Itsa (17) and Becky (28) are two women living in Mile16, an area of Buea (capital of the Southwest region, Cameroon). Both dropped out of high school since they could not cope with school fees after their parents died, both are living in a one-room house with children and young adults and both have been trained and gathered experience in hairdressing, but no one employs them for that. We have been working with them and watching their improvements, now they're ready for the next step.
Single mothers in Cameroon and particularly at the deprived area of Mile 16 are at risk of sexual abuse and poverty, only economic independence can protect them. There is a need for skilled workers in Cameroon to be employed on their fields that is hardly addressed. Under the "KGA" project they improved their lives through the informal economy. Becky moved in two months from being a "hawker" selling on the move, to having a small stand of her own with a variety of products.They have done well.
Now we want them to do better. To fulfill their dream and push forward their life improvement. This project will provide with everything necessary to open two separate hair dressing saloons in two different growing locations of Buea. We want to equip them because we believe that not only they deserve a break from a life of suffering for them and their children, they could also be agents of economic change in the area.
We can say from other cases that there are so many positive effects, if the business works economic empowerment will improve their health, secure their children education (they life with 3 children each, although not all of them are their own) and protect them from abuse, sexual disease and unwanted pregnancies, when it comes with someone with the entrepreneurial spirit of Becky, we might even see her employing other girls at some point.