Chad: Khadidja, a strong and independent woman

Finding support through HI

Khadidja is 27 years old. Following a fall, she has suffered from atrophy of the right leg since she was 2 years old, which obliges her to wear an orthopaedic prosthesis. This young single mother supports her two children alone. Since 2018, she has been accompanied daily by HI teams as part of an economic inclusion project. She has benefited from an income-generating activities (IGA) grant and technical assistance services for mobility to repair her prosthesis.

"I fell off a donkey in the village,” Khadijah explains. “As they could not treat me there, my family took me to N'Djamena. The doctors here told me that I had to be treated in France but we couldn't afford it. Later, my family was able to buy a prosthesis. After this prosthesis broke, an acquaintance advised me to go to the Diguel counter where HI could help me. HI repaired my prosthesis and gave me a grant to start my business.”

Khadidja starts a business

Thanks to the support of the HI teams, Khadidja has kept her mobility and now has a stall where she sells cereals. This activity allows her to feed her family, to find accommodation, to look after herself and to send her children to school. The savings generated by her business have also enabled her to invest in a sewing machine to start a small sewing workshop. 

“Thanks to HI’s help, I set up my small business selling cereals. Now I have enough food every day and I was able to save money to buy a sewing machine and start a sewing business. I make numerous orders, which helps me to live and pay for my health care and my children's school.”

Khadidja's newfound autonomy is now helping her to plan for the future:

"Since my business is doing well, I would like to expand my activities and buy a motorised tricycle to make it easier for me to get around and collect the goods I sell. I would also like to build an extra room to better accommodate my children.”