From Eviction Threat to Thriving Garment Business

When Adaeze's husband passed away suddenly, she was left to care for three young children with no income and no safety net. Within months, extended family members contested the family's land, and Adaeze found herself facing eviction from the only home her children had known.

"I didn't know where to turn," she recalls. "I had no money for a lawyer, and I had three children depending on me." A neighbor referred her to JOF's legal advocacy program, which took on her land rights case at no cost.

While the legal team worked to secure her family's home, Adaeze enrolled in JOF's vocational training program, learning tailoring and garment production. A ₦75,000 micro-grant covered her first sewing machine and starter fabric inventory.

Eighteen months later, Adaeze runs a full garment business out of her home, employing two apprentices and supplying uniforms to a local school. All three of her children are enrolled in school, and she now volunteers as a peer mentor, walking ten other widows through the same legal and vocational process that changed her life.

"Through JOF's legal advocacy and a tailoring grant, I built a flourishing garment business. Today, all my children are in school, and I mentor 10 other widows."