---
title: "Work that bears fruit"
description: "Babagana smiles behind his roadside fruit stand. Four years ago, he fled his hometown on his own. Now, he is able to support his wife and five children thanks to a fruit stand he set up with backing from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)."
url: "https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2019/work-that-bears-fruit"
language: "en"
published: "2019-02-12T14:31:44Z"
modified: "2019-02-12T14:31:44Z"
---

![Fruit salesman, Babagana Malam Idrissa (35), in Maiduguri, Nigeria. 2018 Photo: Beate Simarud/NRC](https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/images/countries/nigeria/2019/richard-skretteberg/fruktselger/fruit-salesman_maiduguri-2018_beate-simarud-7.jpg)

Nigeria

# Work that bears fruit

Senior Adviser Richard Skretteberg Published 12. Feb 2019

[Nigeria](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=90) [Cash and voucher](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=138) [Livelihoods and food security](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=149)

Life smiles to Babagana and he smiles back. Photo: Beate Simarud/NRC

This article was first published more than 7 years ago

Babagana smiles behind his roadside fruit stand. Four years ago, he fled his hometown on his own. Now, he is able to support his wife and five children thanks to a fruit stand he set up with backing from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

Babagana Malam Idrissa is 35 years old and comes from Bama, a city situated 70 kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of the state of Borno in North East Nigeria.

### Fled in a hail of bullets

He was forced to flee on his own when Boko Haram attacked Bama in 2014. But before he left, he found a hiding place for his wife and four children. While the fighting raged, the thought of what his wife and children could be exposed to was unbearable. So, Babagana went back and managed to bring his whole family to safety. Along with his wife and small children, he set out on the strenuous journey to Maiduguri, which was filling up with displaced people.

[Read also: Wealth, poverty and rising violence](https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2019/wealth-poverty-and-rising-violence)

Babagana had worked at a petrol station in Bama before the attack, and he used the little money he had saved to rent a room in Maiduguri. Both he and his wife agreed that they should do everything possible to manage on their own.

![The result of the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) "How to do business" course Photo: Beate Simarud/NRC ](https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/images/countries/nigeria/2019/richard-skretteberg/fruktselger/fruit-salesman_maiduguri-2018_beate-simarud-5.jpg)

### A short course changed his life

It didn’t take long before Babagana contacted the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and soon he started taking a course called “How to do business”.

While Babagana went to school, his wife started sewing hats to help earn money. Together, they found out that there was no fruit or vegetable stand near where they lived. With start-up capital equivalent to USD 120 from NRC, Babgana started a roadside fruit stand. Business has been great, and now he can pay for all four of his school-age children to go to school. He also has a new baby at home in the house he and his wife rent.

![Babagana is a respected man in the local community and the customers are many. Photo: Beate Simarud/NRC ](https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/images/countries/nigeria/2019/richard-skretteberg/fruktselger/fruit-salesman_maiduguri-2018_beate-simarud.jpg)

### Five a day in Bama

Babagana’s story shows that, despite stresses near the limit of human tolerance, displaced people are not merely focused on survival, but they are looking for opportunities to make their dreams come true. Babagana and his wife not only create work for themselves, they are also an inspiration for their local community. They have learned the popular wisdom you hear all around the world: if you lend someone a hand, there will be another hand to help you when you are in need.

[Read also: Survived on water and insects](https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2019/survived-on-water-and-insects)

Babagana sees a bright future, but he wants to leave Maiduguri. Like most displaced people, he wants to return home when it is safe enough. What could be more fitting than running a fruit stand in a town called Bama. Babagana can offer his customers at least five a day.

![Now Babagana is the one "helping" the Norwegian Refugee Council. Photo: Beate Simarud/NRC ](https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/images/countries/nigeria/2019/richard-skretteberg/fruktselger/fruit-salesman_maiduguri-2018_beate-simarud-3.jpg)

**Our work in North East Nigeria**

NRC started working in Nigeria in 2015. There are over six million people who depend on life-saving humanitarian aid in North East Nigeria alone.

We distribute food and provide support for food production. Food shortages and malnutrition – especially among children – represent major challenges.

Our education projects are much more than ABC. Especially in rural areas, very few children have access to schools and illiteracy is widespread. Education provides hope, bridges the differences between ethnic groups, normalises everyday life and gives children the opportunity to process traumas.

NRC gives displaced people the opportunity to set up latrines, as well as to build new homes and restore partially destroyed houses by paying them for their work. This gives people dignity. Latrines are important for improving hygiene and preventing the spread of diseases. This is essential for preventing cholera outbreaks.

We also provide legal assistance to people who have lost their identity papers or if there is a dispute over property rights.

We run various training courses and provide modest start-up capital so that people can manage on their own. This could be a sewing machine for those who have completed sewing courses or tools for those who want to become craftsmen.

In 2018, NRC provided life-saving humanitarian aid to 250,000 displaced people in Nigeria. But the humanitarian situation is still critical. In particular, the lack of food, clean water and education for children are the main challenges. Our main goal in 2019 is to reach out and provide assistance to many more of those who currently do not receive any help.