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My Economic Uplifting is Tied to the Support of LAPO

Victoria Ajayi
Victoria Ajayi is a typical client of LAPO. Her foodstuff and textile business is fast picking up after several years of lull and stagnation. She says that this has been made possible through the intervention of LAPO, which has for about three years now, granted her easy access to credit for business development. She was operating the business from a slim economic base. This made it impossible for her to reap the fruits of
her labour.

When she was told about LAPO and its activities to assist the very poor to combat poverty in 2001, she instantly dismissed it as a huge charade but today;
she is full of thanks to her sister-in-Christ, Alison who unfolded the programme of LAPO to her.

Ajayi said she thought LAPO was one of those faceless outfits, capitalizing on the high level of poverty in the land to dupe unsuspecting members of the public.

Having felt and benefited from the service of LAPO, she declared that she is now one of those preaching the message to those who have not yet heard it or are simply incredulous.
Mrs. Ajayi hails from Osun State, Southwest Nigeria. She is in her early forties and was born into a polygamous home. Unlike most other girls, she was lucky to receive basic
education, as her parents wanted their children to be adjusted despite their poor financial situation. What cut short her dream of higher education was the untimely death of her father when she was still in the secondary school. Her mother was not financially well off to cope with the finances involved in education hence, she had to learn a skill in tailoring.

On completion of the training programme, her mother assisted her to purchase one sewing machine. Her husband, whom she was dating then, later bought another for her, making two sewing machines.

Before she got married in the year 2002, she was already making little money to sustain her and support other members of her family. Now she has a daughter named Esther who is presently six years old.

As the years rolled by, Mrs. Ajayi developed disaffection with her sewing business. She was no longer comfortable with the little proceeds as patronage went terribly down. She was only getting good patronage during festive periods and this she considered dangerous to her economic well being. It was a trying period for the family as the economy, at the time assumed a bad shape, making it impossible for her husband's income to meet the fast increasing family needs. Mrs. Ajayi started thinking of what next to do. She was later able to raise a little amount of money that enabled her to commence trade in foodstuff. This she was doing in addition to her sewing business.

Not satisfied with the small size of the business and the little profit it attracted, she started thinking fast about business re-capitalization. She started to contact people for any useful clue to where credit could be sourced.

The few moneylenders available demanded cutthroat interests. She was still in this trouble when the news of LAPO's activities reached her in 2001.

Initially, she received the news with lots of skepticisms but when she was informed that the terms of repayments were friendly, she wholeheartedly embraced the idea and joined. She was made to undergo a series of pre-loan training and then registered in Asheribo Union in Lokoja, the middle belt of Nigeria. She has risen to the position of secretary in the union. Her first loan was N8, 000 (USD 58). This she invested in her small business (foodstuff). She repaid this loan and took other subsequent ones amounting to N20, 000. These loans enabled her to expand her business.

At this stage, she decided to diversify. According to her, "I was making profits from my trade and was becoming more and more comfortable. So I began to think of other things I could venture into." She took an additional loan of N25, 000 from LAPO and invested in children's wears. This business, she said, attracts a lot of profits especially during festive periods.

Presently, her store, located in a very busy area at 210 Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Lokoja, is well stocked with a variety of goods such as shoes, both for children and youth, dresses, baby wears, provisions, foodstuff, mineral and all that. She also has two grinding machines used for grinding tomatoes, egusi, ogbono (condiments) onions and pepper etc. for her teeming customers.

She said her market has recorded great improvement as money from LAPO is making her able to stock so many profitable goods. "I was not having money to sell rice and beans. Now I buy them in bags and resell at retail prices. This means more profit for me. I am also now able to do daily contribution of N200 and support my sister's children and younger ones too."

Ajayi is now able to contribute significantly to her family budget and this has greatly relieved her husband who is also a businessman. She has benefited from Gender, Environment and Leadership Training (GELT) workshops organized regularly by LAPO Development Centre (LADEC), a social development subsidiary of LAPO. At these workshops, she has learnt besides other things that it is unjust to discriminate between male and female children. Strengthened by this, she has resolved to give equal opportunities to all her children irrespective of sex. She wants to give her children the best education she can afford to equip them for the future.

Mrs. Ajayi says to other women "never depend entirely on the income of their husbands, as nobody knows tomorrow." She said women must strive to enhance their economic fortunes and aspire to leadership positions in the society.

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