Mahama day care: closing the motherhood gap and helping women entrepreneurs and their children thrive!

Olpah, 28 years old, is a mother and an entrepreneur selling vegetables, tomatoes, and fruits in Mahama Camp.  Last year, when Olpah was in the Kigeme refugee camp, she was supported by Inkomoko with the capital to start her small business. Olpah was transferred to Mahama Camp and continues her business but often had challenges with running her business whilst taking care of her two- year-old child.

“My business was not profitable because I’d have to stop working to go home and breastfeed my child, and It was difficult for me to go to buy new stock. When my customers found that I was not around, they immediately bought their groceries from neighbouring businesses”. Olpah, Woman Entrepreneur.

In June this year, in Mahama camp, Kumwe Hub supported by Save the Children, established the day-care that aimed at closing the motherhood gap and helping women entrepreneurs and their children thrive. Olpah’s child is among the children benefitting from Mahama Day-care. Olpah drops her child off at 7:30AM and takes him from the day care at 7:PM after work.

She is now able to do her business efficiently, and deliver a good service to her customers knowing that her child is cared for, bathed, and fed by our early childhood development trained volunteers.

As a result of keeping her business open longer, her net profit has increased from15,000Rwf ($15) to 21,000Rwfs ($20) per month.  “I am now able to deliver a good service to my customers and my daily net profit has increased from 500Rwf per day to 700 Rwf.  If the day care continues to care for our children, I can dream of expanding my business. I am so happy that this day care was established here, it has helped me a lot.” Olpah Said.