Selling by the road, especially in urban cities, has been degraded by most people.

‘Hausa Koko,’ as it is known, is a Ghanaian, locally made porridge, and it is one of the trades that is downgraded.

It is deemed a trade with low profit that if not done well, one may run at a loss.

Alimatu Sadia, from the Northern Region, is a porridge vendor in Accra. She has been selling porridge for over 30 years, since her youthful days.

According to her, selling porridge has been the only means for survival, as her parents were financially handicapped when she was a child.

After moving to Accra upon divorcing her husband with whom she had a daughter, Alimatu recounted how she was able to cater for her daughter’s education up to the nursing college.

She began with no capital, but borrowed to buy ingredients to prepare the porridge. However, she has managed to cater for her daughter.

“By then, the school fees was less expensive. So, I speak with the teachers to pay half at the beginning of the year and complete the payment by the end of the year,” she said.

She also indicated how the sacrifices and help of her daughter encouraged her to work harder to be able to feed themselves.

“I’ve really suffered with my daughter. During her junior high school years, she would wake up at 3:00am to buy bread for me because I had no workers. Because of this, she was frequently late and was caned. I didn’t want to stop because I wanted her to have an educational foundation and go far.”

“So, when she comes home crying, I usually tell her everything will be fine. After high school, she got the opportunity to continue at a nursing training college. She is now working while she continues to achieve more educational status. She’s now married with two kids,” she narrated.

Alimatu stated that even after graduating from nursing school, her daughter continues to assist her in selling porridge.

Even though her sales amount to at least GH₵400 and at most GH₵900 in a day, the porridge seller has two employees who help with the daily activities. “I pay them GH₵100 every week and feed them three times a day,” she said.

When asked if her daughter had ever told her to stop working so that she would cater for her, madam Alimatu responded, “Yes, but I refused because I also want to help her cater for her children as she did for me.”

She wishes to travel across the world to sell ‘Hausa Koko’ to people across the globe.

Though she is passionate about traveling to Mecca, Madam Alimatu is bent on building the foundation for a house before traveling to the holy city.

‘Hausa Koko,’ known for its nutritional value, contains 4.2 g (5% total fat), 5 mg (2%) sodium, and 11 g (22% protein).