Mama Modukpe Akobi
[FRENCH]
"Quand j’étais petit, j’ai fait cinq ans à l’école et j’ai sortie pour aller au Nigeria. Au Nigeria, j’ai appris la coiffeuse. J’ai fait un an et demi d’apprentissage avant de prendre mon diplôme. Le problème qui est ici à Manigri c’est qu’on souffre avant d’avoir l’argent. Il n’y a pas d’argent. Et si tu as trouvé quelque chose à faire, il n’y a pas marché. Maintenant je vais commencer de faire l’ignam pilée pour vendre. Après avoir essayé, si je ne gagne plus dedans, je laisse et je vais encore prendre une autre chose. Mais je rends grâce parce que je suis en bonne santé, j’ai trouvé mon mari et j’ai mes enfants. On est heureuse. Tout ce qu’on trouve, on mange. Je suis très contente. Mon mari m’aime, moi aussi je l’aime. On s’entende quoi! Ça c’est déjà bon."
[ENGLISH]
"When I was young, I went to school for five years and later left for Nigeria. There, I learned how to style hair. I did an apprenticeship for a year and a half before receiving my hair styling certificate. The problem we have here in Manigri is that we struggle to make money. There is no money. And if you've found work to do, there isn't a market. Right now, I'm going to start selling pounded yam. If I'm not successful after trying that, I'll leave it and try something new. But I'm thankful for my health, for my husband, for my children. We're happy. All that we're able to gain, we eat. I'm happy. My husband loves me, and I also love him. We get along well! This is already good."
My host mom is my go-to in-village. Her home is along the way to my house so I tend to pop in to say hello and see how she’s doing. She is often preparing food to sell in a large wooden shack with benches and tables next to her home with her little girl, Cynthia, running around the compound. I have so many pictures of Cynthia at this point that I will definitely be assembling a photo album to give to my host mom towards the end of my service. Mama is kind, welcoming and patient with my attempts to speak Nagot. She loves swiping through the pictures on my phone, asking about my mom in the States who she got to meet in-person last year, and sharing the latest village gossip she’s caught wind of. She is resilient and creative in the ways that she works to make some money each day to provide for her family. She really does have a great relationship with her husband, which makes me happy. They were the first family I got to know in Manigri and I’m really thankful for their hospitality.
​
I worry about mama now and then, particularly when she looks tired and talks about her lack of money. She hops from one income generating activity to the next if she doesn’t feel that she’s making a profit. One week she could be selling pounded yam and the next, condiments, and two weeks later, pork that she bought from a vendor. One of my goals is to help her better track expenses, an idea we’ve already talked about. It’s true that seasons and markets and tastes change; but perhaps we could find a way to better prepare for these changing temporal and market seasons. Until we find the time for that, we’ll continue to laugh at Cynthia’s latest 1 year old antics, practice Nagot, and chat about life in Manigri. This is already good.