When I met Tchalla she was with just some of her twelve grandchildren as there was a teachers strike so they were not in school. She has seven living children, sadly two of her children died. Tchalla sells okra, rice, beans, maize, nuts, millet, semolina, gari (cassava) . She buys these every Tuesday in the villages near to Atakpamé. While she is buying stock her mother sells on her stall (it is very unusual for a women of Tchalla’s age to have a mother still alive). She has up to 50 customers each day. At first she felt nervous about taking a loan but now she has seen her business grow and she has been able to repay she feels much more confident. Her business has been growing slowly but is now successful enough for her to have saved up and now has her own house which we were lucky enough to visit.
Her 69 years have not diminished her ambition – she told us that in the future she would like to expand to sell textiles as well as cereals. I hope you enjoy watching this short film of Tchalla in which she has a message to lenders. "Thank you, prayers to lenders to give them strength so their business is successful and can continue lending to others"