‘I trained my five children by grinding pepper’ — Widow

A widow and mother of five, Mrs Benedict Okoro, has recounted how proceeds from her small pepper-grinding business enabled her to raise and educate her children following the death of her husband.

Okoro told NAN in Abuja on Saturday that although her daily earnings were modest, she relied on the income to provide for her family and keep her children in school.

The Enugu State indigene said she sometimes made as little as N1,000, N1,500 or N2,000 per day from the business.

She said she had been solely responsible for the welfare of her children since her husband died about five years ago, adding that the rising cost of living and education had made the responsibility increasingly difficult.

“I use the little I make to train my children through secondary school,” she said.

“Raising my children alone has been challenging, particularly with the rising cost of living and education.”

Okoro appealed to the Federal Government and other relevant authorities to support petty traders by providing affordable shops in Dei-Dei market and other areas where they operate.

She said many small-scale traders conduct their businesses in makeshift spaces that expose them and their goods to harsh weather conditions, including heavy rainfall and intense sunlight.

According to her, providing affordable trading spaces would protect traders and their goods while creating an environment where small businesses could expand and generate better income for families.

She also called for soft loans and other affordable credit facilities, saying access to funding would enable low-income traders to increase their stock and improve their earnings.

Okoro noted that many widows and small-scale traders struggle to balance meeting their families’ daily needs with the cost of educating their children.

She urged governments, organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to support vulnerable families and help them build sustainable livelihoods.