Halimo Saladi is a young woman with ambition. She was born in 1989 in Dollo Ado Ethiopia. She is the second in a family of five – four boys. Halimo is also a mother of four children, four boys, and one girl, and is a single parent as she was divorced three years ago. Until her death two years ago, her mother was the breadwinner for the family as her father is disabled. With her mother’s death in 2016, all responsibility has fallen on her in terms of catering for the family’s needs.
Halimo’s mother used to sell food items in Dollo Ado town and currently, her second brother does so albeit with some challenge. In order to lend him some support, Halimo started an income generation activity in the form of a tea stall after borrowing 5kg of sugar as a startup, this is a common business that is widely practiced in the area hence does not have a unique selling –. However, the business does not generate enough money to be able to provide for her brothers, sister, and her own children with school uniforms, exercise books and pens and clothing as well as medicine for her father who is ill. Meanwhile, she struggles with getting daily food for the family and sometimes cannot get enough for all the three meals.
“I studied up to grade 5, I liked schooling and I had a dream to be a pharmacist but when my mother passed away in 2016 I could not continue with my education. Everything changed when my mother died, I dropped out of school immediately so as to take up most of her responsibilities at a young age. I was only 14 years old when my father encouraged me to marry on the assumption that the marriage will bring stability and some burden sharing especially in terms of chipping into the family wellbeing. Unfortunately, he divorced me two years ago with four children.
When my mother was alive she would sell food items in Dollo Ado town and my brother and I would take these and sell in other neighboring towns. That was the only source of income we had for survival. Since her death, that responsibility has been mine.”
Halimo is a business-minded woman who has great enthusiasm to receive business skill training. Currently, she is working in a new tailoring enterprise in Dollo Ado and has realized that there is great demand for tie and dye material for women’s outfit. She is very keen to begin a short-term business skill training from a TVET college. “I am waiting for that kind of business opportunity and I will be so happy if WYG considers and accept my application to receive Tie-Dye business skill development training’’ said Halimo. She also added that “I have a dream that when I finish the skill training and get start-up kits I will use my own design to generate reliable and sustainable business for my family.”
Most communities of Dollo Ado are marginalized socio-economically and do not have reliable employment and access to alternative livelihood business opportunities. The Business Development Support Center in Dollo Ado town with support from BORESHA, WYG Ethiopia Specifically will provide assistance to startups and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises(SMEs), facilitate skills training, financing, and an apprenticeship subsidy scheme. Halima will be a contender for at least one of these. We will follow her story throughout the life of the BORESHA project to assess the impact made after the BORESHA project intervention.