There's a saying that 'language is not a barrier.' Similarly, can we say that 'striving to make money to feed oneself is not a barrier'?
It's truly remarkable to see people travelling from one region to another in pursuit of making a living for themselves and their families. What do we call such individuals? Determined souls, perhaps?
This is the story of Doris Yeboah, a woman from the Eastern Region of Ghana, specifically Suhum, who travels to the Greater Accra Region every week to sell kontomire (cocoyam leaves) to support herself and her two children.
Doris shared her journey on GhanaWeb TV’s Everyday People, discussing how she navigates the economy as a single mother and the challenges she faces.
According to Doris, it was never her dream to be where she is today. Back in school, she worked hard with aspirations of becoming a nurse, teacher, or lawyer.
However, financial challenges faced by her parents forced her to drop out at the basic six level.
At a young age, she would obtain goods on credit, bring them to Accra, sell them, and later make payments to her suppliers. This continued until she gave birth.
She shared how she and her children transport their goods to the Accra market, specifically the Agbogbloshie Market, to sell.
Besides kontomire, Doris also sells corn, cassava, and plantain.
“Times were very hard for my mother, so I couldn't attend school. I decided to get some items and sell them at the market. Back then, the market was thriving. I had dreams of becoming a nurse, teacher, or lawyer, but my mother couldn't support me, and my father passed away when I was very young. I had to carve out my own path. So, I started taking goods on credit to sell at the market and paid for them later. I continued this until I had my children.”
“We are not from Accra. (Greater Accra). We are from Suhum. We travel from Suhum to sell and then return in the evening and then come back on Friday. We come here on Wednesdays and Fridays to sell, and then we go back.”
...We bring a large quantity of kontomire to the market and strive to sell it all. In addition to kontomire, we also bring plantain, cassava, and corn. This is how we sustain ourselves, she explained to GhanaWeb’s Victoria Kyei Baffour.
Doris has been in the kontomire business for the past 25 years and through this, she has proudly built a house for herself and supports her two children through school.
She also mentioned that she needs financial support to help boost her business.
Watch Doris’ journey in an interview with GhanaWeb below:
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