Lasting change starts small

Five years ago life here in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, was hard. After the war, people had lost too much: their land and their animals. Then there was Ebola.

More recently, our rainy seasons changed, so the floods would destroy the crops. People didn’t have enough to eat, and our children were going to school hungry. But there was one day, in November 2017, when I said to myself, "We need to do something."

Born in [the 70s], I’m the firstborn in a family of six girls and one boy. I live with my husband in Port Loko town. He is a reverend.

I started nursing aged 18, then went to do general nursing and later midwifery. We have a women’s group called Female Pastors Network (FEMINET). We grow cassava and intend to build a production centre.

Our main goal is to pray together and to do something that will help us as women. Leading the group is no problem really.

Training by Oxfam empowered us to enhance our crop yield and not wait for men to do everything for us. We also received 50 bundles of cassava stems, so we didn’t have to buy planting materials. The training sessions were important. For those who don’t understand English, the trainers were speaking local languages.

Oxfam also gave us a grant which we used to buy blocks of land where we grow cassava and intend to build a production centre. When we started producing gari, we divided the packets among ourselves for sale. The profit belongs to the sellers and they can use it to buy children’s needs. Children love our gari. They sing: “FEMINET gari for vitality and health." As a woman, when you see your child is happy, you are happy.

I work in shifts. I set aside time for prayer and farming when I am off. Being a midwife has helped the group. My profession is God’s calling to save lives. When Female Pastors Network (FEMINET) women fall pregnant or sick, I take care of them.

About 80 percent of the homes in my community are mainly run by women. I assist them and their children so that medical bills will not be a burden for them. They feel very good. Currently, two women in my group are pregnant. I’m taking care of them during antenatal clinics. So far, I have helped over 15 women deliver safely. I’m so happy about that: a living mother and a living child.

My husband retired from public service three years back.

We support each other and our two children. In Sierra Leone, we have extended families, so a woman should have something to do. Before, many women were not bold to say something, but now they talk boldly anywhere they invite us.

People are admiring us so much in our community. Our work is important because it has started enlightening people on the ground.

We are no longer shy. We are happy to talk to anyone and people like us.

Just go to Port Loko town and ask people if they know Female Pastors Network (FEMINET), they will tell you what they know about us. They say: “These are sober-minded women with a vision; they don’t have a scattered mind.” People are proud of us, to be frank.

The group brings together different women: young women, single parents, widows and people with disabilities. We opened the farm because the majority is not working. I tell them we need to work so that we add value to our lives and improve our livelihoods.

Now we are laying the foundations; we have not reached the peak we want. We have a vision to grow bigger both nationally and internationally by the grace of God. And I want every woman to learn to take care of herself financially, without depending on a man.