Blessing Okoroafor, a catfish dealer in Lagos, has received N110,000 donation from two BusinessDay readers to revive her catfish business.
The mother of six was featured in this section of Thursday, June 8, 2017, where she said capital to restart her catfish business is her greatest worry.
The catfish dealer had told BusinessDay that life has been rough for her family since her catfish business crumbled in October 2016, due to the present economic downturn.
‘‘When the price of a basket of catfish increased to N40, 000 in October last year, I could not continue the business because there was no money to plunge back.
‘‘The rising cost of food and household items had swallowed the money I had at hand because prices of almost every item in the market had doubled,’’ she said.
Continuing, Okoroafor said, ‘‘I don’t have business at hand, no job to earn a living or capital to restart my business. Children school fees are unpaid and I even owe arrears. House rent is almost due and I don’t know how it will be paid.
‘‘The catfish business was the only source of income for the family because my husband was out of job as he was sacked by his company due to recession.’’
The catfish dealer received N100,000 from Suru Group Limited and N10,000 from an anonymous BusinessDay reader to resume her catfish business.
Presenting the cheque of N110,000 to the recipient recently, Modestus Anaesoronye, Insurance and Pension editor, BusinessDay, advised Okoroafor to invest the money wisely.
‘‘Endeavour to use the money wisely so those that rendered you this assistance will be glad they did. You will also improve the living conditions of your family by so doing,’’ Anaesoronye advised.
Elated Okoroafor thanked the donors for the assistance and BusinessDay for providing the platform for kind-hearted Nigerians to put a smile on her face.
She said, ‘‘I’m very grateful for this show of love. May this God that I’m serving bless you and your family for giving me this money. Whenever you are in need, the Lord Almighty will make a way for you even where there seem to be no way.
‘‘It gives me great joy to know that I will be going back to my business and with this money, I have no doubt I will be able to fend for my family again.’’
If you want to contact the writer of this story call: +234(0) 803 889 1567, +234(0) 802 223 8495. [email protected]
Chinwe Agbeze
