From Waiting at Home to Building a Future: Sophia Salisu's Story

Alice Wayne | Fashion Shop |West Gonja

Before the TUMA Project came to her community, Sophia Salisu's days revolved around her two children and the walls of her home. She was willing to learn a trade, but two obstacles stood in her way: the cost of equipment and the fees required to start.

"Equipment and fees to start learning were the challenges I faced, even though I wanted to learn something," she recalls.

For many women in her position, that gap between willingness and opportunity seems impossible to close. But for Sophia, that changed.

When the TUMA Project's eco-preneurship bootcamp came to West Gonja, Sophia applied without hesitation. Her first choice was hairdressing, but the slot was full. Rather than walk away, she chose her second option, fashion and design, a decision that would go on to reshape not just her skillset, but her sense of what was possible for her and her family.

From the bootcamp Sophia learnt how to see value in what most people treat as waste. She learned to turn off cuts from the fashion shop into doormats, asesawa(a mixed fabric type of cloth), and mops practical items that reduce waste at the shop and, if sold, open a small but real income stream.

"I find the fashion and design as a good option and a better one," she says.

Under the guidance of her madam (master craft), who she describes as attentive, patient, and generous with business advice, Sophia has moved from knowing nothing about garment-making to being able to cut fabric, thread a machine, and sew a flared dress or a gathered skirt.

"I now know how to cut, thread, sew flair dress, skirt and many things, even though we are still learning," she shared with hope to be better.

The impact for Sophia is both practical and personal. She can now sew clothes for herself and her children, a tangible, immediate benefit that has already reduced household costs. Beyond the skill itself, she has gained a mentor in her madam, who is teaching her not just technique but the fundamentals of running a fashion business.

What began as a woman waiting at home, held back by a fee she couldn't pay, has become a woman actively building a sustainable trade, one seam at a time.

Sophia is one of many young entrepreneurs supported through TUMA Project across Savannah and North-East Regions.

TUMA Project | Wilde Ganzen | 2025-2027

Documented by TUMA project team.

2026