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LAPO Has Uplifted My Family

Elizabeth Batsone
Elizabeth Batsone is one of LAPO's clients you would love to meet.

From being a roadside foodstuff hawker in 1999, she is now a businesswoman, trading in all kinds of kitchen utensils.

Although she comes from a royal background in Osun State, her early life was full of difficulties and miseries that later robbed her of her dream to become an accountant. She was born into a polygamous home and did not have the privilege of a parental upbringing. Her mother, Mrs. Esther Badejoko severed marital relations with her father, Prince Ezekiel Ade when she was still very young, leaving her to the care of her father and his second wife. At the death of her father few years later, she was taken to her paternal grandmother who now brought her up. To worsen her situation, her father was the only child of his mother meaning that there was nobody else to pick the bills for her
education. This unfortunate situation truncated her desire for good education. Later, she undertook a training programme in typing. She met her husband, Rev S.O.E Batsone in 1979 while she was still working as a typist in an insurance firm and they got married the following year, 1980. In order to avoid a replication of her unsavouring childhood experience, she later called it quit with her low-paid insurance job and devoted her time and attention to the upbringing of her children as a full time housewife. For so many years, the entire family depended on the income of her husband, Rev Batsone, a pastor and a businessman.

The late 80s, economic recession brought with it untold hardship for most families and that of the Batsones was equally touched. The living condition of the family began to change, as the income of her husband was no longer sufficient to meet the fast increasing family budget.

Her frustration began to mount. "I was no longer happy. My children were no longer getting the best of attention as before." She soon realized she could venture into trading but the money with which to start was not just there. How could she raise money? Who would give capital? All these questions begged for answers at the same time.

Apart from her husband who offered her a little help, nobody else was willing to do so. She was however undeterred. With the support of her husband combined with other personal savings, she was able to raise the sum of N10, 000 to begin trade in foodstuff. The money was not enough to stock enough goods, not to talk of renting a shop. In her determination, she resulted to hawking rather than throwing in the trowel.

Batsone was still not satisfied due to the small size of the business and the little profit it attracted. Her profit could hardly bring in the required change in their condition of living. She needed more money to facilitate a great business boost. It was during this critical moment that a friend of hers, Mrs. Stella Dafretta introduced her to LAPO. "Initially, I was very reluctant. She (Stella) encouraged me further telling me that a lot of women were already benefiting. She later agreed to pay back whatever amount I may have put in, in the event of being duped. This was how I got registered as a LAPO client in the year 2001."

She was later made to go through pre-loan training, which qualified her for her first loan of N10, 000. "Although the money was considered not sufficient, it was not bad. Since I was not starting from the scratch, it was helpful. I added it to the business. With another loan of N15, 000, I rented a shop and also added to my stock of goods. " Batsone neither diverted the loans nor wasted any time before she ploughed back every kobo she made as profit into the trade. After a while, the impact of the loans started to show and she was very happy. With time, she changed her line of business from the sale of foodstuffs to that of kitchen utensils. As luck would have it, the business, which started with a capital of N10, 000 has grown to a capital base of about N300, 000 within a couple of years.

Her daily sales have grown while her profit is rising correspondingly. For her, this is a remarkable achievement, especially as she is now able to contribute substantially to the family budget. This is indeed a giant leap for Mrs. Batsone who spent more than a decade as a full time housewife. She ascribes her newfound success to the financial support granted her by LAPO and expressed satisfaction over the flexible conditions of loan repayment, which she describes as very friendly. "LAPO is doing a good job. It is a blessing to women." Unlike before when she was idle, this outstanding businesswoman has become an asset to her husband and a financial pillar in her family. She is no longer a mere consumer of food. She can now come to the rescue of her husband during periods of financial crises as she has become economically empowered herself.

Batsone does not want to stop at this stage. She hopes to secure an office space to set up a business center and also be a contractor. She also plans to begin the building of her own house in conjunction with her husband.

Some of the LAPO trainings she has benefited from are GELT (Gender, Environment and Leadership Training) where "I learnt that men and women are created equal by God and can achieve whatever they set their minds to" and the various health trainings, which "have taught me about nutrition and prevention of various diseases."

On the whole, Batsone says she has enjoyed LAPO and the benefits that have accrued to her by virtue of her membership.

She has five children- four females and one male. Most of them are being trained in school. She is 62 years of age, plump in nature and dark-complexioned.

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