The Success of Maria from Tolon, Ghana
Maira’s mother wasn’t able to give her much, but she gave her love and the knowledge and skills to create masterful culinary delights, from next to nothing. Tolon is a very small village, but everyone knows Maria’s spaghetti shop.
When Maria found herself alone, with no support to raise her children she was able to utilize her cooking skills and open a small little roadside stand. She was just surviving day to day with not much left over to provide the necessities. She couldn’t afford to buy additional ingredients enabling her to make greater quantities of food to sell.
Even though she was around food all of the time, Maria often went without so that her children would have something to eat. She knew she needed to sell as much as possible to make enough to provide for her family. Maria was very interested when Mentors Ghana came to her village. She was excited to learn that Mentors Ghana not only would provide her with the funds to invest in her business, but they would teach her how to better run and manage her small business.
Maria is very quiet and thoughtful, but she uses those skills to listen to her customers. She has many plans for the future. With her loans, she plans on purchasing more ingredients to increase the variety of foods she is able to cook and serve at her little shop. Her children are proud of Maria, and she is passing along to her children her mother’s legacy of love, hard work, and good food.
