Women and girls of Nguti Sub Division, Kupe Muanenguba Division have embarked on petty trading for survival amidst the socio-political crisis in the sub division.
Most girls and women carry out petty trading where they hawk within the streets and during occasions, to feed their households.
Ebenki Emilia told The Ultimate that she has been a farmer for over forty years, cultivating cassava, plantain and vegetable. She said seasonally, she used to raise over FCFA 500.000 from her farms to carter for her family.
She lamented that with the intensity of the crisis in Nguti, her income dropped to zero. She said most of them fled to Buea for refuge. “As Internally Displaced Persons in Buea, life was not easy with me and the children. We barely survived in Buea. I decided that we return to Nguti and sort for an alternative means of living.” Ebenki disclosed.
She said since they returned to Nguti, she moves from street to street selling biscuits, candies, fried corn and groundnut. She said passengers along the Kumba-Mamfe road are also her customers.
Ebenki pleaded that her major handicap is the lack of capital. She pleaded with elites of Nguti to support her business so that she can expand, employ other girls to the business, in order to facilitate community development.
Like Ebenki, Tafang Amina said she has been selling water and juice for over twenty years. She said the proceeds help her to sponsor her three kids in school. “I toil under the rain and sun daily because I want my children to be well educated. That is why we are crying for a return to normalcy in Nguti. Let our children go to school again.” She pleaded.
Tafang said while many people fled from Nguti because of the crisis, she stayed on, struggling to survive. Her major wish is for peace to return to Nguti so that they can operate their businesses in a serene atmosphere.
By Olive Ejang
