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Support In Times of Sickness

“First I give God all thanks. Because of Zoe Empowers, I’m proud of myself because I can now go among the people. I am happy because now when I get sick or need help, I have a support system of people to help me. I am no longer alone.”

Massah and her two younger siblings were homeless after their father died. She had no choice but to work long days picking coal into bags to be sold by a group of men in her community. She was promised to receive $1.80 every two days, but often, they refused to pay her.

Massah found hope and a new family in her Zoe Empowers group who have become her support system. In April of 2017, she found herself becoming very sick and knew she needed to call her mentor, Jerome. When Jerome arrived, she was unable to walk, so he carried her to the hospital. It was not surprising to learn that she had an advanced case of malaria. Before Zoe Empowers, Massah would have been left on her own leaving her with few options to make the common but deadly mistake of taking a pain reliever used for headaches to treat her condition. She was proud to share that in a short amount of time, she has a healthy connected support system who will be there for any situation.

Today, she rents a home for herself and her siblings. She is proud of the mosquito net she earned through the Zoe Empowers program. She is making a real wage selling fabric and slippers with a profit of about $24 each week from her fabric sales alone. She will begin a training program in July 2017 to become a hairdresser and is in the process of conducting her market analysis to create her business plan.