How the women felt ?

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I have always longed to organize a workshop for women in my community but the challenges varied from lack of self-confident, where I could start, fear and women will not listen or take me serious. A workshop where we could come together and share our talent, motivate, groom, nurture one another has always been my desire. Whenever the thought of organizing an event comes in my mind all my negative thoughts will surface and discouragement will overwhelm me.

I want to start by acknowledging the help of World Pulse in my life as a whole. Through world pulse I met a different world void of fear, intimidation, just to name a few. There, I read stories that motivated me a lot and that was how I slowly but diligently developed my inner self and learnt how to overcome my fears. I decided to organize a workshop, so I posted it as a resource on world pulse as an offer and then I came across a lady sister Tunde Legha on world pulse who was just beside my neighborhood and we did things in common and had the same vision. She has been working and talking with rural women on nutrition. I met her one on one and we talked about the workshop and what I was to present and she promised to be there and she came.

With the help of close friends and some sisters I met through world pulse, I came out with a date which was 13 July 2018, and a venue; new layout Mbengwi road Bamenda Cameroon. I went through neighborhoods mobilizing women, and even through personal interactions I told everyone I could about the workshop. In not more than three days I heard people discussing about it in a taxi where I was, so that gave me more energy and motivation.

On that day, the women came out in their numbers more than I expected, we began by prayer because God is the altar. We introduced ourselves and went straight to business. We talked to them about soya beans and its importance and how they could use the little they had to make more and nutritious food for the family and I equally talked to them on the importance of hygienic production of nutritional milk /food. Then we went straight to the production of soya beans milk;

• Get a clean bold and pour in clean water
• Wash the beans thoroughly, till it is well clean
• Sun dry the beans
• Take your frying pan, big one and fry the beans until ‘brown’
• Take it to the mille and grind very well
• From the mille, take it home and sieve it with a sieve
• Your milk is ready for consumption.

Your soya beans should be conserved in a well dry container, where it can be corked when not using and uncorked while using. It can be added in tea, corn pape as milk, in soups like egusi soup, ndole and other soups as an ingredient and equally in any other food of your choice.

Among my guests were, wives and single mothers who were not ending much nor providing for their families or depending on their spouses and partners. I even saw some women I knew who were molested by their husbands and families, there in the workshop. I encouraged them and told them that if they want to produced then it should be neat , the packaging most be presentable if it is for marketing ,in other to make good sales and equally to keep their customers. I introduced them to a friend and sister whom I taught how to produce soya beans milk and how to market it in other to support her family even though she had another job. Her husband supported and helped her in the production and marketing of the milk. With the income, they manage their families very well and they are doing well in business.

At the end, they asked questions on the conservation and I told them and what I loved was when I heard a woman say she has tried so many times to learn how to produce soya beans milk but she didn’t succeed. But thanks to the work shop I organized she is able to produce it.

I was very happy seeing the smiles on their faces and we shared the powder milk we produced and we said our prayers and dispersed. They happily went home and with hope that I will organized more workshops where they will bring more women to come and learn new things.

I was happy that we all made it there and the event was a success, I equally want to thank every world pulse sisters who came especially Sister Sophie Ngassa, (my mentor)  and the entire team and I believe the best is yet to come.