TREE AID Update Magazine March. 2014 | Page 8

Education - a lasting legacy The ability of women to set up small businesses has a long-lasting effect: not only will they be able to pay for their children’s education; they will also pass on their skills so that generations to come are aware of the power of trees for income, food and environment. Success stories Abegka Anankpieng is 40 and lives in the village of Toelensa in Ghana with her husband and six children. Abegka has observed the empowering effect of establishing a small enterprise after she began raising fruit trees and processing shea butter to increase her family’s income. I have already expanded the shea butter processing; with the increased income, I am in a position to pay for my children’s education even if my husband cannot. Ama Awin, from Siisli village in Ghana, explains the impact of her shea butter processing enterprise. Our children stand to gain the m