Welfare and Self-Reliance Success Stories

Sister Amah Cordelia, Nsukka Nigeria District:

Amah Cordelia is a humble widow with five children, three females and two males. All of them are returned missionaries in the Nsukka Branch of the Nsukka Nigeria District.

Shortly after the death of her husband, it became a very big challenge to feed her family in a country with the greatest number of the poor, but it has also become one of Sister Amah’s accomplishments.

Sister Amah is a petty trader in vegetables, hence her decision to go into vegetable farming after her graduation from the self-reliance programs. She gained sufficient knowledge and principles that uplifted her. She learned that expanding the farm could help her meet her needs and those of her family.

She learned how to prepare a self-reliance plan and followed through implementing every item on the project.

Through a positive attitude and hard work, she has successfully developed her farm where she harvests Nsukka pepper, garden eggs, and cucumber.

The motivation of sponsoring her sons through university education enabled her to expand the tomato farms, which has resulted in a tripled income.

Sister Amah has not only been able to feed her family, but her farms have also become training sites for all the members participating in the self-reliance program within Nsukka District.

Her experiences have helped Nsukka District members move massively into farming as the need to feed families remains difficult and challenging.

Her accomplishments are stories better seen than told.

We are grateful to our Heavenly Father for the blessings of attending self-reliance group meetings.

Sister Igbojionu Ogechi Blessing, Adolor 1st Ward Benin City, Nigeria Ugbowo Stake:

Before I attended the self-reliance group meetings, I was into a small-scale business and I could not separate my capital from the profit. I usually added up everything together, making it impossible to determine if there had been any profit. During the self-reliance group meetings, I was able to learn the principle of budgeting which has helped me to put my costs in order as I now know what to buy first and what to forgo, i.e., my needs, versus my wants, as well as the important principle of tithing.

The principles I learned in self-reliance have been helpful in my workplace in so many ways, such as helping me know how to manage my salary through effective budgeting as I try to spend wisely, organize myself by creating a balance in my life, as well as helping me to be spiritually and financially self-reliant.

Currently, I am gainfully employed through a referral I got from the office of the Welfare and Self-Reliance Services in Benin City.

I testify that the Church is true, and I know that self-reliance will bless us as we participate in any of the group meetings because it has really blessed my life.

Mary Udom, Calabar Stake:

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to take part in the self-reliance group meetings, starting and growing my business which has been a source of blessings to me today.

I acquired sewing skills with the help of the PEF loan in 2013, and I am thankful to Heavenly Father that I was not just an applicant, but also a beneficiary of this process.

There were challenges along the way, but my determination and zeal gave me the strength to press forward. This has assisted me as an individual and as a mother, adding extra income for my family.

Sister Mabinty Quee, Bo East Stake (Sierra Leone) and Brother Emmanuel Kargbo, Kenema Stake (Sierra Leone)

Sister Quee and Brother Kargbo both have large families. This is because they include and extend helping hands to other children.

The Welfare & Self-Reliance manager visited with them on their farms as part of the Church’s member-livelihood agricultural project, and they expressed gratitude on how the livelihood project has elevated them to an advanced level of food security.

Because of the extremely large family size, meals were limited to one person per day while other available funds were used for school fees, rent, tithing, medical, and other expenses for daily upkeep.

They shared with the Welfare and Self-Reliance manager that the project support will help them feed their family so they have also planned to assist others who may be in need.