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Seeing a Way Out of Poverty
Twenty-one years ago, Solomon, a father of six from the Upper East Region of Ghana, lost his sight to river blindness, a preventable and treatable disease. Unable to work, he was reduced to begging on the streets of Bolgatanga while his wife, Adiza, sold charcoal. Still, their combined income didn’t cover their expenses — and there was no money to pay their children’s school fees.
Solomon learned about the Disability Rehabilitation Program (DRP), supported by Episcopal Relief & Development and its local partners. At the DRP, Solomon learned basket-weaving and wreath-making skills, and with just $60 in start-up capital, he began a basket-making business and doubled his initial investment in three short months.
“A physical disability is not an inability,” Solomon explains. “With very little support, people like me can do a lot to improve their lives.”
Solomon’s business is now a family affair. Adiza and the children gather straw from nearby fields. She helps her husband weave and transports the fine baskets to a nearby market for sale.
For the first time, the family eats well and attends to their basic health needs, with enough money to enroll their children in schools and vocational skill training centers.
