Sewing, a new path for Aminata

My name is Coulibaly Aminata. I am eighteen years old and I come from Côte d'Ivoire. When I was 15, I lost my parents. After that, everything changed.

Before, when I was a child, I went to school. I loved school and everything we did there. When my parents were alive, I didn't work. Sometimes I went to the fields with my dad, but he didn't force me. I liked helping him.

I lost my parents when I was fifteen. After they died, I came to live with my uncle. He is a cocoa farmer. When I arrived at his house, I felt embarrassed because I was no longer with my parents. I missed my father terribly.

After my parents died, I stopped going to school because we couldn't afford it. At that time, I often went to the fields with my uncle.

When I went to the fields, we transported the cocoa. In the morning, we went to the field, at noon I prepared lunch, and in the evening we returned home. I didn't like working in the fields because it was difficult. The bags of cocoa were heavy, the sun was strong, and the rice scratched my skin. Once, I injured my foot with a machete. And as time went by, I realised more and more that I didn't want that life.

There was a period when I didn't do much. When I wasn't going to the fields, I hung out on the streets with my friends. I wandered around, wasting my time. And I knew that the streets can lead you into bad things.

© Anders Johnsson / OIT

© Anders Johnsson / OIT

Sewing for a better future

I have loved sewing for a long time. When I left school, I wanted to become a seamstress, but I didn't have the means to get started. I didn't even know where to begin.

I was on the street when the people from the cooperative found me. They told us about the ACCEL Africa project and said they would pay for us to learn a trade so that we wouldn't have to hang around on the streets or in the fields anymore. At first, I didn't believe them, but they spoke to my uncle and convinced him to let me try.

When I started sewing, I learned how to make dresses, skirts and camisoles. Before, I knew nothing about sewing. I learned everything here.

Today, my life is different. In the morning, I get up and go to work. In the evening, I go home. I no longer hang around on the streets or go to the fields.

I like being in the workshop with my friends, and I like learning from my boss. When he shows me how to do the work, I'm happy because I'm making progress. And I feel a sense of pride that I didn't have before.

I like sewing because when I work and finish sewing a dress, I am happy. I am happy to see what I have done. I like making dresses for women, for children, and also for customers.

Sewing has changed my life. Now I am happy to see what I have done with my hands. I am no longer on the streets.

© Anders Johnsson / OIT

© Anders Johnsson / OIT

My dream: to be my own boss

I don't just want to learn. I want to build something.

My dream is to become a great seamstress. Later, I want to open my own workshop, be my own boss, earn money and become a great person.

I often think about those who are still hanging around outside, like I used to. To those young people, I advise them to look for a job to do, to find a trade. Walking the streets is not good. There are many bad things and many consequences. When you're on the streets, you can learn to steal or become a bandit. Working is better.

© Anders Johnsson / OIT

© Anders Johnsson / OIT

Find out more:

• ACCEL Africa combats child labour in the cocoa sector and artisanal gold mining in Côte d'Ivoire by encouraging business development and formalisation.
• The project also works with vulnerable communities to raise awareness of the risks to which children are exposed in agriculture and the importance of education.
• ACCEL Africa also supports Côte d'Ivoire's efforts to extend social protection to cocoa farmers, miners and informal workers at risk of child labour.
• ACCEL Africa is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.