Gbasay Davis
Paynesville, Liberia
I am Gbasay F. Davis from Liberia, Paynesville. I have a husband, a daughter named Wubu, and a son called Jesse. My business today is all about provisions. In our community, people have to travel far into the city to get stuff like food, so I decided to bring provisions to the community.
I started my business about three years ago because there were no jobs for me after I graduated high school and nursing school. I really wanted to work in the hospital, but when I applied, no one would take me as a nurse aid because I had no recommendation. In our society, people must know you before you get a job.
“I am very, very proud of myself. I am self-employed and running a business, and I am happy that getting into business was not in vain.”
“The business kept my family going during Ebola. I was the accentual worker during the Ebola outbreak for my family.”
When I heard about the BTCA programme I thought that this would help me know more about how to run my business. It made a big difference. The accounting skills were the most useful skills that I learnt. When we where taught those skills, we started laughing and saying, ‘Oooh, so we are in accounting school’, and we joked over it, but really it was meaningful.
Today, before I even go buy, I sit down and calculate how much I am putting into the business and how much I will get out of the business, so if I make a loss, I will know how much I have lost. The BTCA really helped, and I would encourage people to be part of the training and part of the programme.