Most Significant Change Story: A Single Woman’s Role Rescues the Community

Story told by Massah Morie

Transcribed and translated by Philemon Vandi McSenesie and Konneh Samba, One Village Partners staff

As featured in One Village Partners’ 2023 Annual Report


Massah Morie, a 28-year-old woman, and casual laborer lives in Makka; a community found in the eastern part of Sierra Leone, Kailahun District with more than 800 inhabitants.

Massah admires business travelers who come to do daily business in the community and return. Massah also wanted to undertake a business, so she embarked on casual labor to start her business.

She saved NLe 1,000 (One Thousand Leones) and started selling raw fish. She did not know market surveys, nor how to track business expenses and profits.

Massah was also unaware of how to use the business calendar. “My fish business was always coinciding with the time people embarked on ponds, streams, and swamps fishing,” Massah stated.

She had limited knowledge of the type of year-round business to establish. She also spent unlimitedly and her business started collapsing due to frequent loans for luxuries.

“I was always involved in taking ‘by day’ loans to buy luxurious clothes worth NLe 500 (Five hundred Leones) to be repaid in two weeks.”

Massah consistently faced police arrests when she could not repay her business loan as per her agreement with the creditor. The frequent harassment nearly drove her to give up her business. “I was arrested by the police on my farm and taken to Segbwema police station where I spent a whole night in the cell. I almost decided to leave the business,” Massah confirmed.

But then, Massah encountered One Village Partners.

Massah witnessed the One Village Partners community meeting in her community where she became motivated and decided to join the Nurturing Opportunities for Women (NOW) program in 2018.

She learned about how to improve her business skills and the dangers of taking risky loans. In the NOW phase 2 program, she was taught the importance of market surveys and how to track business profits from investments. Massah identified a new business to embark on but it was still difficult for her to stop taking risky loans.

To start a new business, Massah has to do a market survey to better understand customer preferences and tastes. She opted to start cacao, rice, palm oil, jewelry/clothes, and food.

“I prioritized the business that was the demand of the community members. As soon as I started this, I began making profits,” Massah explained. Massah separated her household savings from business savings because of her increased knowledge of business skills from the training with One Village Partners.

Massah participated in NOW: Agribusiness in 2022. With her making profits, Massah started giving out loans to community members with no interest. Some community members were not repaying the loans on the stipulated time and some did not even pay the loans. However, she used her business savings to add up to the available cash to buy new items.

Massah started to see business profits by calculating business expenses and taking away its bulk total from the income. She has a stable running business. Her business grew day by day and the community began to recognize her voice in most decision-making. She loans community members in need with finance and other goods to solve household problems and repay with small or no interest.

“I loaned seven thousand new Leones (NLe 7,000) from Massah on 5th January 2023 to add it up to my money to buy a star TVS motorbike. I was able to repay this loan within three months. This motorbike is now helping me support and solve my household problems. Massah is our redeemer in supporting youths to reach their potential and community to grow,” Bockarie Dauda, a male community youth confirmed.

Massah's business profit continues to grow day by day. Recently, she provided financial support to the community for a communal project work. “I loaned the community during the barry implementation at the clinic with one ‘Bata’ of palm oil and seven hundred and fifty new Leones (NLe 750 or $32 USD) to provide food for work to complete the construction work,” Massah confirmed.

Massah now has five thousand new Leones (NLe 5,000 or $211 USD) in the household savings.* Her business has expanded to thirty-five thousand new Leones (NLe 35,000 or $1,477 USD) capital. She accumulates a yearly profit of twelve thousand new Leones (NLe 12,000 or $506 USD) from her businesses. “Effort determines the success of a sustainable business,” Massah stated.

*This amounts to more than 6x times the national minimum wage salary per month. For context federal minimum wage in Sierra Leone is nLe 800 ($34 USD).

Any business without proper expenses and profit tracking will easily collapse. I have learned how to take a good record, separate household savings from business savings, and stop buying luxury clothes. This will facilitate a sustainable business.
— Massah Morie, Makka
 

Meet Massah

This video, presented at our 2023 Partner Breakfast, showcases three success stories from our partner communities. The first is Makka, featuring Massa Morrie as she shares about her experience in NOW: Agribusiness.

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