A case of hope and perseverance
Umar, out-of-school youth becomes model entrepreneur
A typical day in Umar Sulaiman Mohammed’s life started with a work out routine, after which he would stay idle for the rest of the day. At the age of 25, Umar, a resident of Kurna Babban Layin, Dala Local Government Area, Kano state, had dropped out of school. When he still attended school, he would trek long distances to and from school because he had no financial support.
Recounting his experience in Hausa, Umar said “I also used to go days without food because I did not have money to buy food. This lack of funds made me drop out of school. Life was hard.”
Umar had dreams of becoming a graduate and this drove him to find ways to raise funds. “I tried to make ends meet by selling water and used the profit to register for the SSCE which I passed. I really wanted to get a university education.” He said.
Having passed the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), he could only hope that his dream of becoming a graduate would be fulfilled as finance was still a challenge.
Armed with perseverance and hope, Umar waited for a break while he continued his business of selling water. He did not have to wait for long as his sister soon heard about the Girls Improving Resilience through Livelihoods and Health (GIRL-H) Program livelihood training opportunity. It was the case of a good turn deserving another.
“She said she shared the knowledge with me because of a kind deed I had done in the past,” Umar recalls.
The program partnered traditional and religious leaders within the communities of implementation who help to identify adolescents and young people living within the community. These young people have to meet the criteria of being marginalized, out-of-school and aged between 10-14 years and 18-24 years, to be enrolled in the program.
Speaking about the training experience, Umar said, “I learned about teamwork and cooperating with others. I got interested in electrical works and solar installation and was trained for a period of 12 weeks.”
Upon completion of the training program, he ventured on his own. He first sought a loan to start his business and then received the sum of one hundred and forty thousand naira (NGN140,000) from the program. With this, he augmented the initial loan.
Umar expresses confidence in his abilities with regards to his skill and says he can now teach others as his knowledge is broadened and his skill improved. “I can now provide value and contribute to my community,” he adds.
As with all things, Umar has had challenges to combat in the course of running his business. Chief of this, is the inflation resulting in a continuous increase in the cost of materials needed for business. “This is a major worry and a limiting factor,” he said.
Undaunted by the challenge, Umar trudges on, putting measures in place to thrive against the odds. He also has students under his tutelage and he says through them he is assured of leaving a lasting legacy.
“I take my students along with me for work to help them have hands-on experience and become experts. This way I can guarantee that they will be able to thrive when they finish their training with me,” he added.
Umar also has plans for expansion and collaboration with international partners who he says will benefit from the new innovations he now teaches his students. “Some of the innovations are from deep down the earth and it’s something that I would like to share with the world,” he said.
Umar still hopes to get a university education but his resilience evident in his ability to not just stand against the odds but to influence other young people is in line with the GIRL-H program’s goal of young people experiencing improved well-being and increased access to economic opportunities, contributing to individual and household resilience.
About the GIRL-H Program
Girls Improving Resilience through Livelihoods + Health (GIRL-H) is a Mercy Corps-implemented 36-month programme targeting adolescent girls, boys, and young people in Kenya, Uganda, Haiti and Nigeria. The programme aims to improve girls’ well-being by increasing their access to and uptake of life skills, health information, basic numeracy and literacy, and financial literacy, as well as foster pathways to formal education, economic opportunities, and civic engagement.
The overall goal of GIRL-H is that adolescent girls, boys, and young people experience improved well-being and increased access to educational, economic, and civic engagement opportunities, contributing to individual and household resilience.