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"One other shop has recently opened in the village but the competition doesn't matter - I'm the leading shop here!"
18 year old Alfia Abrahim Mussa is a young - and feisty - shop owner in the Ethiopian village of Genda Chella. She was given credit as part of the 'petty trade group' set up by Oxfam in the village - where the poorest women in a community are given a loan to help them get started, as well as training in marketing, book-keeping and coop management.
Alfia now sells everything (almost literally), including soap, shoes, batteries, pens, exercise books, cigarettes and biscuits. "In the beginning I was buying and selling salt, coffee and spices. I carried them to towns and I'd sell to anyone I came across. After that I got the 400 birr [about £25] credit from Oxfam and expanded my trading."
Stock and goods
"I get my stock and goods from [nearby town] Chelenko, going half way by donkey and half way in a lift by car. I go every week on Saturdays because the other days I'm at school. The school is nearby and even during breaks I run back to open my shop so students can buy whatever they need."
"It's better to have a shop as I can't travel anywhere to work. I trade coffee so I don't need to travel too much - some of my customers are coffee farmers who carry it right to my door! And my income is much higher now than before. I have bought two oxen with the money from the shop and will fatten them to sell on and buy others. It's such a change."
Cows and oxen
"There are many women in the credit scheme at the moment and everyone really tries their best with their loans. Some have bought goats, some use it to help with their trade and some have bought cows and oxen. There is a great difference between petty trade group members and non-members. We are able to save money and buy animals and things for our families. We can manage our households without having to depend on our husbands. It's better for all of us."
"I have learnt a great deal from this and can now advise others. I tell them how much to buy and sell to get a profit and how to save. All this I have learnt through life. I did training in how to save and manage money, registering income and expenditure. Three of us trained in Chalenko and came back to train others in the community."
Helping each other
"There are 11 people in our family, mostly children, and we grow our food also. I am supporting my brother through high school and give some of my income to my family to help them - my parents are very happy for me as any income they have gained in their lives has been from farming a small piece of land. Now we help each other."
For more on Oxfam's work in Ethiopia, click here: Oxfam in Ethiopia. |
