“Progress” and Luxury Goods Allow Women to Thrive
Kabh and Lopu sell dried fish and vegetables—potatoes, onions and garlic—at their own market stalls in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital.
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| Kabh proudly displays her onions and dried fish that she sells in her market stall. |
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Click here to download original photo (3504 x 2336 pixels, 72 dpi, .jpg format, 3.89 MB). |
The fish are caught in the St. Paul River, which runs through the city. The potatoes are imported and cost $2 apiece. In a place where people typically make $1 a day, it’s a hefty price, but even so, there is a market for their wares. They have built their businesses thanks to microloans from an American Refugee Committee (ARC)-sponsored institution. Their loan group is named “Progress.”
One of the casualties of Liberia's 14-year civil war, which ended in 2003, was the country’s agriculture. Farmers fled, and fields were tainted with bullets and blood. Currently, Liberians are starting to bury the past and coax the soil to nurture new life, but for now, a potato is a luxury good.
Kabh, as her family's sole breadwinner, earns enough at market to put her two children, her husband and herself through school. At night, Kabh studies business and administration.
Lopu's success also enables her to send her six children to school. Already a high school graduate, she attends business training through Liberty Finance, ARC’s Liberian microcredit institution.
Liberty Finance offers small loans of as little as $70 to help Liberians start their own businesses and rebuild their economy. Nearly all of the 3,000 loan recipients are women and Kabh and Lopu are just two of them. When the recipients repay a loan, they qualify for a larger one—Lopu is now on her fourth loan. Liberty Finance’s repayment rate is consistently above 95 percent, which is an outstanding performance.
During the war, Monrovia was more of a battlefield than a town. People hid out in buildings, but it would be a stretch to say anyone “lived” there. Kabh and Lopu could tell you how bad it was—they saw it all. But they prefer to focus on the future. They plan to develop their businesses and become wholesalers. With your support, they will get the resources and skills to do it.
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