Name
Fatima Saaka
Location
Mankuma Village, a small farming community in Ghana
WildHearts Trust Bank Name
Borewunkye ('God's Gift')
Business
Market stall selling grains and cereals
Loan Amount
£96
Proudest achievement
No longer having to leave her children to work as a manual labourer across the border
Hopes for the future
To expand her business to be able to afford to give her children an education
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Fatima Saaka
"My vision is to expand my business and be financially independent so that I can give my children a better education and life in the future." Fatima SaakaMy name is Fatima. I am a 31 year old, mother of four children, aged 16, 12, 7 and 2½. My mother was deaf mute and was abandoned by my father. I was raised by her and our relatives and was given into marriage as soon as I was old enough. I had my first child when I was 15.
Before WildHearts come to our village I had to travel across the border to Cote d’Ivoire to work as a manual labourer. I would have no food to give my children. I could not see a different future for us.
I took a loan of £96 for 5 months to buy goods in bulk and open a food stall in my local market. I sell grains and cereals such as maize, sorghum, millet, cashew, and shea nut at Sawla and Bole Markets and to food vendors and retailers in my own community. I also buy and store some of my grain until later in the season when prices are high. In a typical market day today in Mankuma I am busy selling my cashew nuts in the blistering sun. I buy my stock in sacks and sell it in small bowl to make it more affordable for my customers. I have already seen changes in my profits and can now save GHC 5 (£2.40) daily with the savings club in the market for my children’s ongoing education. This would have been impossible to me before taking the loan. With the business training I have also been able to increase my output two-fold, cut my costs and increase my profits.
Since the women in my village received their loans they've all become more active in the community and no longer have to cross the border to look for work. I have big plans for my future now. I believe with the support and training I could one day become a big supplier of shea nut, peanut, cassava and other foodstuff in my community. As women are caretakers of children in my community my vision is to expand my business and be financially independent so that I can give my children a better education and life in the future. I want my youngest daughter to become a nurse when she grows up.
