Rebecca Reuben, a petty trader in Lagos, has received N80, 000 donations from two BusinessDay readers to invest in her business.
The mother of seven was featured in this section of Thursday, May 17, 2018, where she said she needed assistance to foot her bills.
‘‘I am finding it difficult to pay my children’s school fees. Sometimes I get assistance from customers, but that is not enough because my children spend more time at home than in school,’’ she said.
‘‘My monthly rent was N5, 000 and I still owed some months’ rent when my landlord who was a bit understanding died. Now his children have increased the rent to N6, 000 and asked me to either pay a year rent or move out. I have been pleading with them but they have threatened to throw me out if I don’t pay.’’
The petty trader who deals in roast yam and plantain told BusinessDay that life has been tough for her since her husband lost his job due to sickness.
‘‘I was making little profit but since the prices of food items have been going up, it has been difficult for me to cope. Some days I just sit at home because I don’t have money to go to the market,’’ she said.
‘‘This is the only business sustaining my entire family. To eat is a big problem for us and my husband who is supposed to assist me has been sick,’’ Reuben said in an earlier interview.
The petty trader received N50,000 and N30,000 from two anonymous readers to invest in her business.
Presenting the cheque to the beneficiary on Friday, Zebulon Agomuo, editor, BDSUNDAY, advised Reuben to put the money to good use.
‘‘Ensure you invest this money into your business and resist the temptation to use the money for anything other than your business,’’ Agomuo advised.
The overjoyed petty trader who was just discharged from the hospital thanked her donors for their support.
In her words, ‘‘I pray for those that blessed a poor and struggling woman like me with this huge money. May God bless them, their entire generation and grant them their heart desires.
‘‘I was admitted in the hospital for two weeks because my blood pressure was very high. When I was discharged, I did not have any money on me because I spent all I had on hospital bills. This money will go a long way in helping my business.’’
On what she will do with the money, she says, ‘‘I will pay part of my rent and put the remaining money into my business. Once the business is growing, I will not have problem feeding my family, paying my rent or even paying for my children’s school fees. ’’
If you want to contact the writer of this story call: +234(0) 803 889 1567, +234(0) 8155184838 [email protected]
Chinwe Agbeze
