Meet Ma Miatta Saysay, A 62 year-old woman who owns a provision shop in Paynesville named, ‘The Ma Miatta provision Shop’ despite the challenges she went through as an uneducated woman. She is a proud mother of five children who are all out of high school and attending university. As single mother, she feels happy seeing her children reach to where she never reached and that she had taken God to be her biggest motivation in life.
Decontee: Thank you for accepting to this interview
Ma Miatta: You are welcome
Decontee: How is life with you?
Ma Miatta: Things are going well, with the help of God.
Decontee: How was life when you were young?
Ma Miatta: I was small when my parents parted and because of that, my uncle took me to his wife place to stay in the interior. My uncle and his wife never had money to send me to school so I didn’t sit in a class room. After sometime when I got big, I felt bad that I was not in school because I know that I have a bright future and couldn’t have been to where I am today if I was educated, but that is life.
I got established after some years and I had children. The war came and we moved as refugee in Fendell. I was there with my children and their father after the first stop of the firing and we starting getting supplies. I had one of my friends who I was helping us and some of her children were staying with me. While there, the second face of the war came and the group scattered. My big brothers went to Kakata Town while my family and I moved to Freeport along with my small brother and we started life again. Luckily, I met my friend and she brought me to Pipeline and give me a house with three rooms to stay in. My brothers and I moved there and we put our names down for supplies. After few years, my children’s father died from yellow fever and I starting struggling to make life better with the children. In 1990, I met another man who started helping me. As he was helping, I started helping myself to sell as well. We got married and we built our own place and I born two children for him, unfortunately for me, he died and I alone left with the children to take of them.
Decontee: what are you doing for living?
Ma Miatta: I own a provision shop with home material, before than I used to go out of the country to buy goods and sell, but the soldiers broke down my shop and took all the goods and we had a huge setback so I had to start from the beginning. I went in the bush and started selling cold by plastics and I began life again for my children. With my hard work I open a shop.
Decontee; How old are you?
Ma Miatta: I am 62 years old
Decontee: How many children do you have?
Ma Miatta: I have five children and so many grandchildren and I am taking care of all of them. My last child is attending the University of Liberia and will be graduating this year; all of my children are out of high school, even though we had challenges during the war. I was there supporting their education because I know if they are successful in the future, it will be a good thing for them. I am also sending my grandchildren to school as well from this business. At times my big daughter can help me to provide food for the house, because it is not easy to take care of home but, all is on God and I am grateful that I am not renting. I am living and selling to my own place.
Decontee: What have been your motivation?
Ma Miatta: My motivation is God. All through my life I have been depending on God; I was a Muslim before I became a Christian. I did that because I needed God in my life so much and I saw how he was working on my behalf. Since I made that decision, God has been working for me; every morning before leaving my room, I pray and asked God to take control and I am grateful that he always heard me out. That is why he is my biggest motivator.
Decontee; Do you have any encouraging words for women?
Ma Miatta: Let me send this advice to my sisters them; you need to stand on your feet to support your home. Don’t wait for your husband pay that will come after two or three months before the house looks good. Be a supporter and not broken stick. So, I am encouraging my friends, women, to do something for themselves and to be a liability to men.
