Enkelish Regassa used to sew on the streets of Butajera – making and repairing clothing on the spot on her singer sewing machine in the rank of textile workers who ply their trade in this matter in the town’s busy marketplace.
But in 2006 she began to rent her own premises, and with loans provided by her local Self Help savings and credit co-op established ‘Johannas Textile Shop’, named after one of her children.
Having trained as a dress-maker after leaving school, Enkelish Regassa works in the business with her husband and two other staff. They make dresses, suits and childrens clothing to order, and also carries a stock of ready made garments that she buys in the markets of Addis Ababa.
The mother of five young children, Enkelish says that they have been able to afford to send all of their older children to school thanks to the profits being generated by the business.
‘But if I hadn’t been able to get my original loan from the SACCO this could not have happened’, she says. ‘I would still be on the street, trying to pick up whatever passing trade that I could’. |
Self Help Africa in Ethiopia |
Self Help Africa began working in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s, and the organisation's model for integrated rural development programmes was first developed in the country.
The organisation is currently engaged in implementing a series of area based programmes, and measures to build capacity at regional level, so that communities can improve their lives and the living standards and conditions of their people. |
