Select a LAPO Client Victoria Ajayi Elizabeth Batsone Virginia Etobe Victoria Ubebe Grace nwajei Doris Iwhiwhu Lucky Oghuvwe Martha Olulu Stella Ebuwa Cecilia Farumen Elizabeth Okafor Sarah Oziwele Patricia Onwubdonu Nkechi Okwudibie Doris Aizenora Eje Okpu Roseline Adamu Helen Igbinosa

I Am Comfortable With LAPO

Helen Igbinosa
Back in the 90s when Helen Igbinosa stayed depressed in her grossly under-capitalized provision shop, occasioned by dearth of funds, little did she know that financial reprieve would someday come her way.

She had every reason to be encapsulated in fear about the possibility of breaking link with her poor financial situation and the evils traditionally associated with it.

Although brilliant, Helen did not have the opportunity of acquiring university education. This was mainly due to sponsorship problems, a direct fallout of her parents' poor financial standing. She got married to Mr. Paul Igbinosa, a staff of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in 1992. This was about six years after rounding up her secondary education.

In order to be able to survive the turbulent economic situation at the time, establishing a provision shop readily came to the mind of this enterprising woman. Her headache was how to source a take-off capital. She ultimately had to scrounge out some N1, 000 from a business she had earlier winded up (due to adverse market forces) and added some other monies received from friends and family members. With this, she started the sale of consumer goods. However, few years after, inflation dealt the petty business a serious blow, subjecting it to a gradual decline.

She started the struggle all over again with a renewed determination. Through stringent fiscal discipline, coupled with an equally persistent struggle for survival, she was able to raise some money, which enabled her to acquire a deep freezer needed for a fresh business.

She later effected relocation to a better apartment and altogether, commenced a new line of business ice cream production. The deep freezer helped her in no small way in the production and refrigeration of ice cream, thus giving her improved economic relief.

This euphoria was however cut short in 1997 when NAFDAC struck, sealing off her production shop. NAFDAC took this action, as she was unable to cough out some thousands of naira required for licensing. It was during this lingering crisis that Lift Above Poverty Organization, LAPO came into the scene.

It was her sister in-law who first told her about the cheery news of LAPO to her in 1998. During a chat with her one certain day, she learnt that LAPO could give her business loans without any collateral as a necessary condition. She wasted no time before joining.

Helen immediately jumped at the idea since microcredit was generally difficult to obtain from financial institutions. Besides the requirement of collateral, stringent conditions usually attached are not unconnected with this difficult problem. Moreover, the cost of servicing such loans alone is enough to bring down one's business, as moneylenders are quick to confiscate property in the eventuality of default. In contrast with this, ?LAPO loan,? she mused, ?Is a better alternative since it is free of crippling conditions.?

Within a short span of three years that Helen became a member of LAPO, she rose to become the Secretary of Osasenaga Union in Benin City. Within the same period, she received normal loans of N5, 000, N15, 000, N20, 000, N25, 000 and N40, 000. With the help of these loans, Helen resurrected her business of ice-cream production and purchased three additional deep freezers to boost it. The freezers are always stocked with ice creams. Her resilience, commitment, dedication and consistency have combined to make her customers even more loyal in their patronage.

Helen, unlike the past, now contributes quite significantly towards the family budget, thus becoming a source of great relief to her husband, Mr. Paul Igbinosa, who had toiled without success to meet the huge financial obligations of the family. His predicament was worsened by poor pay, delay in payment of salaries and inflation. He acknowledged with relishing satisfaction that since his beautiful, dark complexioned wife joined LAPO, She has become an asset, supportive in the provision of foodstuff for the family. She also helps in the payment of rent, children's tuition fees, clothing and hospital bills.

This 34-year-old woman says she has been empowered economically by LAPO as her local business is now growing by leaps and bounds. She does not go to anyone to borrow money for her trade anymore and neither does she, nor any of her family beg for daily bread. In other words, her self-esteem has been greatly enhanced. These four deep freezers, stocked with ice creams in her two-bedroom apartment perpetually hum the muted growls of a solid, comfortable sound.

Still basking in this euphoria of self-fulfillment, there is a sparkle lighting up her eyes as she proudly caresses the top of one of the deep freezers. She did this with open, disarming gestures as if to say ?look at what I have achieved with the loans LAPO has given me to boost my business?.

Without hesitation, she said in a voice tinged with utter conviction: ?when I meet Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, the director of LAPO, I'll thank him for his humanitarian gesture, the economic empowerment of rural women and for bringing this poverty eradication programme to this part of the world. I'll advise him never to relent in his effort but to continue to give us loans.?

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