.png)
Avid blog reader (AKA family and
friends): “What Adrienne, no more food and shopping?”
Me: “Don't worry we're just adding a new topic to the mix not ditching the old ones. I promise I won't start taking myself too seriously”
Me: “Don't worry we're just adding a new topic to the mix not ditching the old ones. I promise I won't start taking myself too seriously”
What I've learnt in six weeks of
working with Equality for Growth is to be truly in awe of the women
we are working with. Women market vendors are some of the
busiest people around. These women put in a solid 12 hours of
serious work. They are go-getters who have managed to scrape together
whatever capital they could find as start-up and are getting by
despite low-levels of education, literacy and business knowledge.
When you talked to people here they are
really surpised that this is our target group because they can't
imagine mobilizing these women to try and fit anything extra into
their day. Honestly, I'm shocked too. Any minute these women are away
from their stalls is a minute that they may be loosing a customer or
a sale which can mean the difference between a successful day and a day where they and their families go hungry.
And yet Equality for Growth has managed
to slowly build a steady following of women who understand the
benefits of taking to time participate in workshops and attend group
meetings. It is not easy. These groups are new and there can be a lot
of tension, disagreement and friction. On the other hand, there have
also been a number of small but significant triumphs. So my new
pledge is to try and share one story a week about the work being done
here in and among the stories on life in Dar. So here is my first one:
This is Hadijah Mohamed. She is a widow and mother of five children who makes her daily living as food vendor. Food vending is one of the least profitable but most common businesses for women. On a daily basis she makes 10,000tshs to- 15,000tshs ($7-9) from which she sustains herself and family.
She
joined the EfG group and has become the chairperson. She also is part of a
savings and loans group run by EfG. After the group built their savings she was able to borrow from her fellow market vendors. With the loan, she bought a motorcycle famously known as
“boda boda” as an additional income asset. She now uses it to run
a local transportation business.
Having additional assets also makes it easier for women to access other financial opportunities like micro-loans. From the small step of saving as a community, there are now more options for her in the future.
Having additional assets also makes it easier for women to access other financial opportunities like micro-loans. From the small step of saving as a community, there are now more options for her in the future.
0 comments:
Post a Comment