Workforce Empowerment in Sierra Leone

Dear project partners:

Microfinance continues to be in high demand in Sierra Leone.  This is due to the fact that this is a proven way of helping people get out of poverty and develop a new sustainable income.  Thanks to your support, we offered this lifeline of support in February to Memunatu. 

Memunatu comes from a very poor family who lives in a slum dwelling. She has 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Both parents are alive but very poor and unable to take care of their children. Memunatu struggled through her primary and secondary education with meagre support from the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). Due to her challenging family background (e.g. difficulty in getting a meal a day, no conducive place to study, little or no learning materials, etc.) Memunatu did not do well in the final Senior Secondary School examination (West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination-WASSCE).

However, because of her due determination and quest for advancement in life, she was supported by an individual to pursue a two-year catering course. She graduated with a good result, but has not been fortunate to secure a job.

We have supported Memunatu with a micro-finance grant to embark on micro- enterprise. Based on the nature and volume of her business, Memunatu has requested to utilize the funds in phases as she improves on her business skills as well as minimize risks of losing the seed money due to poor management.

She is using the knowledge and skills acquired in the catering school to prepare and sell by snacks such as fish ball, fish-in-batter, fried sausage, meat pie and kebbe (local food). She makes a return of between Le15, 000 and Le20, 000 ($2.54 -$3.39) a day. She is using part of the profit to take care of herself and her family (i.e. parents and siblings).

Memunatu is very grateful to YOU for this support. She promises to work hard and advance herself and improve the standard of living of her parents and siblings.

Together we are truly changing the world, one life at a time.  

Save The Date: Starting at 09:00:00 EDT on March 16th, all donations until midnight are eligible to be matched at the Pro-Rated percent. The Pro-Rated percent is based on the total amount of funds raised on Bonus Day, the amount Develop Africa has raised, and the amount of matching funds that are available. This means we don’t yet know what the matching percent will be but we will find out at the end of the Bonus Day.  With this structure, GlobalGiving is able to offer matching funds for every online donation during the day.

Thanks so much for your kind support!

The Develop Africa Team

Dear Project Supporters,

Meet Mariatu, a project beneficiary. She is a palm oil (cooking oil) retailer at a local market in Freetown. During the Ebola crisis, her husband was unemployed and she was the sole bread winner.

Thanks to the microfinance loan that she received, her business is doing well. Her family is fed every day and the kids are able to go to school. Your support made a huge difference in sustaining her and her family.

Mariatu says a personal Thanks! in this video.

"I say a big "Thank You" for this microfinance program that you made available. During the Ebola crisis, my husband was unemployed. Through this loan, my children have been fed and are going to school. Also, everything is well at home and taken care of - so I am very grateful to you for your support. My name is Mariatu."

YOU, made this happen!

Thanks so much for your support.

Best Regards,

Develop Africa team

Links:

• Thank You GlobalGiving Donors For Microfinance Loan