RAHELIBENJA Harisoa Mamy – Madagascar

“My life has really changed”

Mamy Tiana Yvonne is living in the urban council of Mahajanga, which has been part of the Gender Links (GL) centre of excellence process since 2013. She is one of the beneficiaries of the entrepreneurship project led by GL in 2014.

Mamy lives alone her with two children; she takes the role of mother and father at the same time. Being a survivor of violence for years, she decided to break up with her husband one year ago. Currently, she affirms that she is satisfied with her life as she has managed to be financially independent, thanks to GL’s training. Mamy came to know GL in 2014. The paralegals at the counseling centre in her council encouraged her to participate in the training, which she attended rigorously.

After the first phase of the training, she began to put money aside and she finalised her business plan. She started to buy equipment and investigated the groceries of her village. Little by little, she developed her business and currently, she supplies yoghurt, sorbet and milk to more than ten groceries in her village and is starting to build up a clientele in other nearby villages.

She says the entrepreneurship training helped her to change, both personally and professionally. At a personal level, she used to stay at home and fear encountering many people because of shame. Now, she interacts with different people and is at her ease everywhere, even in offices. Professionally, the book she shared during the training has become her bible. She revises it every day and does not forget to write up her expenses and profits in a special note book.

“Being financially independent has changed people’s view of me”, she says. Before, she was criticized by her community as being good for nothing. Now, people have learned to respect her and come to her to learn the secret of her success in life. “For me, the most important thing is my children. Thanks to the change in my life, I can meet their needs”, she says.

She also tells us that she is a member of an IT training centre at her council. This centre is training women in using computers and the internet. Currently, Mamy has become a trainer at this centre. She also works closely with the council when there are gender related activities to be held in Mahajanga, such as the celebration of 08 March or the 16 days of activism.

She wants to thank GL for the entrepreneurship initiative, “My life has really changed”, she says.