A Tale of Woe Turns into Joy
By Sebastine Obasi
Monday, May 05, 2008
For poor HIV/AIDS victims, succour has come in the form of loans to start their own businesses
Succour has now come for poor women, especially those living with HIV/AIDS, victims of human trafficking and prostitution.
A micro-credit scheme is being provided by Lift Above Poverty Organisation, LAPO, a non-governmental organisation, to enable them have sustainable business enterprises, build assets and reduce their vulnerability to economic hardship. About 147,000 women have so far benefited from the LAPO initiative, while one million Nigerians are being targeted to benefit in 2011.
In January and February 2008, alone, LAPO disbursed N1.4 billion loans to beneficiaries. The amount disbursed ranged from N40,000 to N100,000. The beneficiaries are drawn from the 121 branches of LAPO, country wide. Before disbursing the loans, beneficiaries had to take part in a six-week training, organised by LAPO. The training focused mainly on business management. This is to enable beneficiaries make good use of the loan, so as to pay back as stipulated. The initiative has paid off.
Zainab Salib, a 29-year-old widow and mother of two children is one of the beneficiaries. She has lived with HIV for about a decade before knowing her status in September, 2005. But raising enough fund to take proper care of herself and the children left behind by her husband was difficult, until she got to know about LAPO. "I was introduced to LAPO in my support group. After the compulsory pre-loan training, I was given the sum of N50,000 with which I started my clothes business," she said. Salib who resides in Auchi, Edo State described the business as profitable. "When I collected the N50,000 business capital, I bought goods worth N30,000 and made profit of N10,000. During Christmas last year, I went to Onitsha market with N65,000 and made a profit of N30,000," she said. She hopes to take a loan of N100,000 next time to enable her rent a shop and expand her business. According to her, the involvement of persons with HIV/AIDS in income generating activities will promote their well-being and reduce their dependence on others for survival.
Grace Ubroda, 45, a native of Uwelu in Delta State and mother of six is another beneficiary of the LAPO loan scheme. She was given her first loan of N10, 000 in 2003. With that she commenced selling kerosene, beginning with five gallons. According to her, she paid back that loan within six months and took another one of N15,000, with which she further expanded her business. Currently she sells up to 10 gallons of kerosene daily, out of which she makes a profit of not less than N1,000. With this, she has been able to support her husband in the upkeep of their family. "I have six children and one of them has just graduated, while others are still in school. From a small apartment, we have moved into a flat. I contribute to the payment of rent and children's school fees, when my husband's salary is delayed," she said.
For Elizabeth Odogu, 39, and mother of three, her dream of being self-employed has been fulfilled. A former private secretary in a small firm and with a meagre salary, she had looked forward to a day she would have people working for her. Her visit to some banks for loan did not yield anything meaningful; she was always told that she didn't have the necessary collateral for loan. With a deep freezer provided by her husband and N15, 000 loan from LAPO she started her ice cream business.
The turnover and profit made from the business have enabled her to acquire two more deep freezers. She took additional loans after eight months having paid the previous one. Her last loan was N65, 000. Odogu now has five staff who distribute the ice cream with bicycles. According to her, she makes an average of N16,000 daily.
Apart from ice-cream, she has diversified into timber business. In her sawmill she has installed two machines valued at N150,000 and a generator to power them in case of power outages. She attributed her success to the business management she underwent at LAPO. "They taught us how to manage our resources prudently, not to misappropriate funds or waste our money on irrelevant things. We have also learnt simple tips on health and home management," she said.
In response to the needs of victims of human trafficking, LAPO developed a programme for their rehabilitation. With the collaboration of Tampep Onlus, an Italy-based NGO, a micro credit scheme is being implemented. So far 56 deportees have benefited.
Godwin Ehigiamusoe, executive director of LAPO said that his organisation focuses on women because they are relatively more deprived. Again, women tend to undertake small enterprises which are usually supported with small loans. According to him, entire household, especially children benefit more when income of women increases, than men who tend to spend their income towards meeting personal needs. He explained that the poor are often excluded from institutional financial services of banks; due to their inability to provide physical assets as security for credit facilities. He noted that motivation for repayment is, therefore, created through pre-loan training and adequate loan utilisation monitoring.
Similarly, clients are organised into self-selecting groups of borrowers to build interaction and solidarity between them and the lending institution. LAPO has a wide range of partners, from international institutions or foundations to local partners. Some of the local partners include Nigerian International Bank, NIB, Zenith Bank and Skye bank. The international partners include Ford Foundation in the United States of America, United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, Oxfam Novib of Netherlands, Cordaid of Netherlands, European Union, Micro-Projects Programmes, MPP 6, and Development and Peace of Canada. Some others are Evanelischer Entwick hngsdient, EED, of Germany and Edo State Action Committee on AIDS.
Ehigiamusoe advised the federal government to provide refinancing of facilities for micro finance institutions in order for them to have enough money to lend to clients. "If government wants to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, there is need to continuously refine the micro finance policy, relevant provisions of that policy that will enable it to grow the sector," he said.
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