Four "H"s united for one goal

The women who call themselves "4H," whose names each begin with the letter "H." Their collective volunteer efforts have reached more than 2,500 Mercy Corps beneficiaries. Photo: Haoua Sidibé/ Mercy Corps

The name "4H" is really a pure coincidence: these four colleagues from the same Mercy Corps project in Niger are called Hadiza, Halima, Hadiara and Hadiza. They told me about their efforts to support hundreds of women in Niamey, as well as their desire to make changes amongst the most marginalized, yet motivated populations.

Through the Urban Economic Opportunities Extension Project, 4H support exactly 2,557 persons including 2,456 women. Their target group, usually comprised of women of very low education levels, includes household women, who have become small business entrepreneurs.

The first H — Hadiza — is supervisor of the project team; she said that more than 2,000 people, 96 percent of whom are women, have created micro-businesses with funding through Mercy Corps.

Hadiza explained how they reached out to these wishful small businesswomen during a six-month funding, training and mentoring cycle:

1. Basic training on association management and income-generating activities
2. Disbursement of 35,000 F CFA (about US$70) grants to beneficiaries
3. Monitoring of beneficiaries’ economic activities
4. Evaluation, followed by in-depth training on business skills and enterprise management
5. Second round payment of 35,000 F CFA, and then
6. Regular monitoring of beneficiaries’ economic activities.

These women, all volunteers for Mercy Corps, are filled with courage. They work tirelessly in the hope of changing other people’s lives.

"I leave my house at 7 o'clock in the morning and do not return till 6 at night," one of them said.

A female small business owner, helped through Mercy Corps' entrepreneurship program, selling milk products such as yogurt in Niamey. Photo: Haoua Sidibé/ Mercy Corps

"By looking at what I have accomplished with Mercy Corps, I can count thousands of people who have benefited from our technical support," another commented.

The beneficiaries themselves do not see or say it differently; they show their appreciation to these four women, as well as to Mercy Corps and its supporters. “Thanks to Mercy Corps, I earn an income and I use part of it for household maintenance," one 49-year-old woman said. "The activities I learned give me hope for a more decent life and allowed me to learn a lesson — that of learning to rely on my biceps."

She paused, smiled and laughed, before finishing her thankful though: "That is to say, Mercy Corps has helped me succeed through my own efforts”.