Christiana Ude, a petty trader in Lagos, has received N20,000 donation from an anonymous BusinessDay reader to invest in her business.
The mother of one was featured in this section of Thursday, September 7, 2017, where she said she needed capital to restart her tailoring business.
‘‘I need capital to start a tangible business so I can support my family. My fufu business is not sustaining us. I learnt how to sew dresses and was sewing in the house until my machine broke down. Since then I have not been able to save up money to buy another sewing machine.
‘‘My husband is an okada rider (commercial motorcyclist), but much of what he makes from the okada business goes into repairs and maintenance of the motorcycle which spends more time at the mechanic workshop than on the road working. This ‘fufu’ business is our only reliable source of income for now,’’ Ude told BusinessDay in September.
Apart from capital to restart her tailoring business, the trader says she also has her house rent and daughter’s school fees to worry about.
She said, ‘‘I have not paid my daughter’s school fees since first term. We owe the school N45,000 now. Our house rent expired last year and we were given quit notice. Two months ago (July), the lawyer in charge of the house came to drive us away but my husband pleaded with him.
‘‘We rallied around and were able to raise N15,000 which is five months’ rent. The lawyer collected it but told us to pay up or vacate the room before they throw us out.’’
Presenting the donation of N20, 000 to the beneficiary recently, Peter Ehigiator, Infograpics editor, BusinessDay, advised Ude to use the money judiciously.
‘‘One of those who read your story in BusinessDay developed interest to assist you. Make sure you use the money for your business so as to make more profit,’’ Ehigiator advised.
Overjoyed Ude thanked the kind-hearted donor for the money.
She said, ‘‘I am very happy and I appreciate this gift. God will bless the person that gave me this money abundantly and replenish his/her pocket a hundred folds.’’
On what she will do with the donation, Ude said, ‘‘I will invest the money in my fufu business. I may start selling fruits as well.’’
Chinwe Agbeze
If you want to contact the writer of this story call: +234(0) 803 889 1567, +234(0) 802 223 8495. [email protected]
