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

Life Would Have Been Difficult For Me

Martha Olulu
When Martha Olulu lost her husband, Mr. Thomas Olulu a couple of years back, she was so distressed that she found it very difficult to pull herself together back again. She had thought that her whole world and all that were in it would equally cave in. She bothered about how and where to generate enough resources to cater for the large family of six, being a widow. She was more concerned about her children's future and educational development.

For the weak and the faint-hearted, that would have been the end of the road. Olulu however believed God and carried on with dogged persistence and determination. She was then already a client of LAPO and so faced the challenge with courage. The organization became her source of consolation.

Today, she is a happy woman, beaming with smiles. At least she does not beg for food anymore to be able to provide for the needs of the children left behind by her late husband. She ascribes her success to the help being rendered her by LAPO, an organization she says provides her with financial services to establish and nurture her provision and foodstuffs business.

Feeling relaxed and radiant in that cool afternoon in her business premises, she opened discussions by commending LAPO for doing much to combat poverty in Nigeria through microfinance.

Born in Ughelli, Delta State, Mrs. Olulu was born into the family of the late Mr. Efumena Onayobhere, a peasant farmer. Now 34 years of age, she got married to late Mr. Thomas Olulu. Presently, she does business at No 5, Akpofure Lane, Ughelli, Delta State.

An intelligent and hardworking woman who is coping with life with calm and courage, one wonders why she was uneducated. Was it due to any problem of hers or that the means to do so wasn't just there?

She gave an insight: ?My father, a poor farmer, has three wives and a large number of children. It was probably because he was not educated or had no value for western education that he thought it unwise to spend his hard-earned resources on the training of his children. Even if he had shown some interests, his lean financial base would not have encouraged or permitted it.?

To worsen her situation, she learnt no special skill that would have at least guaranteed her future economic survival. This was her circumstance before she met and later got married to her late husband 15 years ago.

A woman of foresight, she was not willing to depend solely on the income of her husband, a local businessman. She knew that would be dangerous and counter-productive, as nobody knows tomorrow: ?It is unwise for a wife to depend solely on the income of her husband, no matter his financial situation. The woman must be supportive and economically self-sustained rather than becoming a liability in the home. What if his resources decline or something unfortunate happens? How will she cope?

Strengthened by this conviction, Mrs. Olulu became determined to change her situation and that of her children. She hated to allow her children to pass through the same unpleasant experience. With her poor academic background, it was clear that getting a while collar job was out of the question. Trading readily presented itself as a more viable alternative. The problem again was where and how to raise the desired capital for her intended type of trade -foodstuff. Her plea for financial assistance did not go unheeded although the response was not encouraging. She was able to scrounge out a small amount of money. Although the money was a far cry from the required sum, she commenced, shading her goods in front of her residential apartment.

In a bid to increase her economic output and worried about her low level of profit, she started thinking about business re-capitalization. Few months later, her present LAPO Union leader, Mrs. Victoria Isidesa called at her residence. The purpose was to introduce her to a micro finance institution, LAPO. After much discussion about the activities of the organization and the mode of loan repayment, she agreed to join. She was made to pass through the mandatory six weeks pre-loan and microfinance trainings and consequently got enlisted in Okpokogbe Union in Ughelli. This qualified her for her first loan of N8, 000 in 1999. Having proven her integrity through prompt repayment of the first loan, she got another of N15, 000 and so on.

As more and more loans came from LAPO, she was able to stabilize her foodstuffs business. She rented a shop and started buying her goods in bulk. Her economic life started to take shape gradually. In other words, she was able to expand her market outreach with a corresponding increase in profit.

When Mrs. Olulu thought the battle was won and over, the unexpected happened. Her husband fell into a strange and protracted illness that ultimately claimed his life, bringing her and the rest of the family to square zero. This was in 2003.

The untimely death of her husband dealt a big blow on the family and her business. It plunged the family into untold hardship once again. In her words: ?I spent all the money I was using for my business to settle hospital bills and to undertake his burial ceremonies. It cost me so much. I even borrowed money from people in addition, to enable me complete the burial rituals as prescribed by custom. After the funeral obsequies, I became so financially handicapped that I had no more money to continue with my business activities.?

To worsen their plight, members of his family shared his property amongst them and finished up their onslaught against the bereaved by pushing her away along with the children. Their argument was that it was a family house and their action, in accordance with tradition.

Again, it was LAPO that resuscitated her business, breathing life into it with an initial sum of N36, 000 as special loan. With this, she was able to start again. She said LAPO showed her a lot of sympathy with lots of considerations that stabilized her business once again.

Today, there is a remarkable improvement in her business and standard of living. She has relocated her business from the residential area to Ughelli market. ?This,? she says, ?is better and more profitable.?
She has also rented a semi apartment where she presently resides with her children. Altogether, she pays the sum of N2, 700 for rent monthly. She said she is training all her children in school and is able to cope with their feeding and maintenance. ?Life would have been difficult for me without LAPO,? she confessed.
Her plan is to educate all her children and provide for their needs.

Apart from regular credit from LAPO, Mrs. Martha Olulu has benefited from Gender, Environment and Leadership Trainings (GELT) and other non-credit programmes organized by LAPO Development Centre, LADEC.

Belonging to a group where she interacts with other women has further emboldened her. ?LAPO,? she says, ? has opened my eyes as I have acquired knowledge which ordinarily I would not have had.?

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