The strong widow enriching herself with a ‘dirty man’s’ job

First, it was a suggestion from her husband; to switch jobs from hairdressing to mechanical engineering.

Not for any absurd reasons, but to help the family business, since he was a frequent traveller and had committed clients who would come looking for him with their faulty equipment while he was away.

As the helpful wife she was, she bought into it, quit hairdressing and took up, full time, what many would term ‘the job of a man’.

Mama Macho, as she calls herself, became an equipment repairer, dealing in the repairs of heavy-duty equipment.

Then her husband passed away. As though the pain of losing a life partner wasn’t enough, her in-laws, (husband’s family) decided to take away the shop which they claimed was family property.

Dejected and frustrated, she almost gave up, but her strong will wouldn’t let her. She put herself together years after and with her knowledge of the work, she opened her own mechanic shop in 2014.

‘It was very difficult, there were times I had to go for spare parts on a credit basis, but with support from some media friends, I got my husband’s customer’s back and work has been progressive,” Mama Macho said.

Today, she has, through the fixing of chainsaw machines, tricycles, motor boards, electric generators and other machines, generated her own wealth, and even owns a guest house and other smaller businesses in Sefwi in Bia West in the Western North region.

“There are lots of employment opportunities unless you don’t want to work or do lowly jobs. I know of someone who has sold pure water and built her own house with the proceeds. So if you are in Ghana and you say there are no jobs, I won’t agree with you because I am doing a ‘man’s job’ and I’m very content and happy. I’d like to encourage the youth to do more, especially for the ladies, don’t go looking only for ‘women branded’ jobs. Try plumbing, tiling, spraying, try learning the electrician vocation.”

“Don’t only while away time with ‘slay queening’, and others when you are young, remember you will grow older and what will you do when that beauty fades, what investment will you have then? She said in an interview with Gh Event TV.