Monrovia – It is usually believed by many that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, so does Susana Kollie Myers, who uses her hands to weave baskets and fans for a living.
Report by Mae Azango [email protected]
Walking under the blazing sun and selling colorful fans designed with thread and chicken feathers, Susana sits by the Administrative Building in Gbarnga, Bong County – a spot that makes her business lucrative.
Many people, especially those attending functions or visiting the administrative building for services – chiefs and elders especially – buy her fan to cool themselves off the hot sun.
For Susana, being able produce something with her hand and make a living out of it is a dream come true.
“I learned how to plait flower baskets and weave fans in 2003, and started selling in 2008. I sell around, and from this trade, I have purchased three plots of land and built three shops.
Furthermore, it is feeding my family and sending my children to school; while I go to the Bong Technical College and pay my own school fees from this market,” Susana said.
Susana is studying Civil Engineering at the county’s technical college.
She said she learned her craft from an abandoned Ghanaian woman who was left on the streets of her village in Gbalata, Bong County, during the war in 2003.
She added that she befriended the lady and took her home to her mother.
“Many people thought this lady was crazy, because she was very dirty and sitting on the street and only speaking French that someone should become her friend,” Susana explained.
“I could understand a little French, so I took her to my mom and asked that we take her in because she was not crazy but abandoned by some AFL soldiers. So during the 2003 war, when we all ran in the bush, it is when she started teaching me how to fix many things, including fans, flower baskets, welcome signs and many other things. “
“We communicated by writing, because the lady could write English but could not speak it, but she went back to her country after the war,” Susana narrated.
Susana is passing on her acquired craft to children between the ages of 5-17. She has five boys and three girls under her mentorship. The kids help her with the finishing touches of her baskets, fans and other artifacts she makes for sale.
“The children come by 8 a.m. and after I feed them, they will finish plaiting one fan by 5 p.m. It takes each child a day to finish one fan, because this job is very tedious.
They would first plait the basket in the form of a fan before they start weaving the thread around it; then they take the chicken feathers one at a time to weave them into the thread and then they weave the handle as well, so it is very tedious to do,” Susana said.
She teaches them for free.
“As to why I am not charging the parents, it’s because the lady, who taught me did not charge me to learn. It pays to be good at times; so this is why I do not charge anyone to teach them.
The lady who taught me did not charge me, so as she was a blessing to me, so I am also a blessing to others.
But the reason I ask the parents to buy the materials, is because when the child is learning, they can spoil a lot of materials,” she added.
According to her, it takes a person three weeks of excessive training to learn how to weave a fan.
Susana is frustrated that young females are not showing interest in learning some craft that would help them sustain themselves in the future. She also believes that the girls may be bowing to peer pressure, which according to her, is a major obstacle in the development of many young girls.
“Why do you think I have more boys than girls learning the trade? Many Liberian girls will take the time to follow their friends and go on the street to look for something they’ve got no business looking for instead of coming to learn something that will improve their lives.
They should know that there are bad men out there who would use and give them little or nothing. If they learn to do something with their hands, nobody will make fool out of them for nothing,” she lamented.
She expressed sadness over the parents/guardians sending their children/wards on the streets to sell sachets of cold water to support the family.
“I feel very bad when I see children walking among moving vehicles and selling cold water and sweets on the streets. I want to tell the parents that making the children to sell cold water all day on the street will give you a little money, but if you send your child to learn and do something with their hands, that child could be a great help to you tomorrow. Let your child be like me one day, who now owns plots of land and other properties,” she said.
A major challenge Sasana is facing with the small business is expanding her market. She wished she could extend to the capital – Monrovia – but does not know anyone in the city to help her.
“I sometimes carry my goods to the hotels and other places to sell, but when I go to sell at the Roberts International Airport in Margibi, a fellow would not allow me to sell, instead he will buy all my fans and sell them at higher prices. I cannot do anything, because I do not know anybody there.
So I just have to abide by his orders and sell my goods to him, but if I had support, and knew someone who we can enter partnership with me, it will be good for me,” Susana said.
She continued: “Just because I have to return to my kids, I am forced to sell my goods cheap to be able to return and teach my children. If people can help support my kids to eat while they are learning, I will be able to teach more children. I will also be very happy if someone wants me to teach their school children.
I can teach the kids every Saturday, because I also go to school during the week,” she said. Susana presently lives in Gbarnga, Bong County.