主播大秀

“At age 13 on a rainy day, I sat on my wheelchair shivering with a plastic bag covering some part of my body. An idea crossed my mind that I could change my current situation”

Aminata Tholley told us that when she was little, she would go out in the streets begging from people passing by in private and commercial vehicles, just to survive. In Sierra Leone it is common for people living with disabilities, especially young girls and women, to beg for money in big cities and towns. We met Aminata in Freetown during the production of our radio programme Wae Gyal Pikin Tinap (When a Girl Child Stands).

She told us that it was very tough for her going out everyday and returning in the evening during the hot, dry and dusty season and even worse during rainy seasons. Her struggle would mostly make her feel sad, she described living with a disability, struggling to make a livelihood, and how often people looked down at her and made her feel like she wasn’t fit to be within society.

With thousands of girls out of school in Sierra Leone, our EAGER (Every Adolescent Girl Empowered and Resilient) project aims to change the negative attitudes and perceptions about girls, including those living with disabilities within society. The radio programme gives opportunities to girls to tell their stories on air, discuss the challenges they face and help find solutions by shining light on the issues.

We interviewed Aminata Tholley for a segment on Wae Gyal Pikin Tinap, the topic of the episode was girls finding opportunities for themselves. And Aminata certainly did that!

Now 27-years-old, Aminata told us how she started her business at the age of 13 and how she continues to live with a disability, using a wheelchair.

"I used to keep half of whatever amount I got from begging and keep it in a cash box. I did this till I got 1,000,000 leones which I used to start a business’’ says Aminata.

She told our producer Marian Tina Conteh how she used to go out in the streets to beg but always saved half of it and used the other half to live. Until she turned 13 that is, when she had a bright idea, “I sat on my wheelchair shivering with a plastic bag covering some part of my body. An idea crossed my mind that I can change my current situation by using the money I have been saving to start a business.” She told Marian that she hurried home to see how much she had saved in her money box.

Soon, she had a plan and naming her business ‘Article’ she used her hard earned money to buy items to sell. She quickly stopped going out begging and started selling items coming from Europe and USA like body lotions, soaps, roll-on deodorants, toothpaste and body wash – and her business grew quickly.

“I chose to do business because of the numerous challenges I was facing when going out begging, and the aspiration to be a better person in society. I wanted to be independent and be able to take care of myself and my family’’, she said.

She is still using her cash box which she opens time to time to buy more items as her business keeps growing, and she has good relationships with her customers – many of them come back to her. Aminata told us she feels so good now that she can take care of herself, her children, and her immediate family members, by providing food, paying school fees, medical, and other basic needs.

She told us how proud she is to be featured on Wae Gyal Pikin Tinap, and that she hopes other younger women and girls, especially girls living with disabilities, will be inspired by her story and will try to find opportunities for themselves.

Based on our research we know our listeners find the programme engaging and like Wae Gyal Pikin Tinap because it features marginalised girls in relatable, real-life situations about issues that are relevant to their lives - as well as potential solutions. I believe in focusing on inspiring and empowering girls in our programmes to bring about the changes needed within our society.

Having girls like Aminata in the show helps identify and highlight issues affecting out-of-school girls, including those living with disability, I was truly inspired to meet her and to learn how she has tried to break the bias for women living with disabilities, and sought to overturn the challenges she faced.

Her story also brings back memories of my own teenage years – I used to have a cash box and operated it for a very long time, using my saved money to buy basic toiletries. And sometimes gave it to my mother to add to her business. And two of my teenage girls are currently operating theirs!

Aminata’s final words with us on Wae Gyal Pikin Tinap? "I plan to have my own shop in the future.’’

Aminata, we have no doubt you will!

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Mariama Sesay is a Senior Producer for 主播大秀 Media Action, Sierra Leone

Learn more about the EAGER project here 
Read our new commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion here