Houevou Victoire BOCO

My name is Victoire B. For more than thirty years, I have dedicated my life to commerce at the Dantokpa market, where I built my business with a lot of work, sacrifices and determination. Mother of three children, two girls and a boy, I have always worked hard to offer them a better future. But in 2017, my life changed. A fire ravaged my shop in Dantokpa and nearly twenty million CFA francs of goods went up in smoke. Thirty years of efforts have disappeared in a few hours. This shock caused a stroke that left me speechless for several months. This ordeal was one of the most difficult in my life. Yet, despite the illness and the loss of everything I had built, I did not give up. With courage and patience, I started again little by little. A few years ago, I reopened a small shop in front of my house in Gbodjè Womey to sell food products and meet my needs. In the meantime, I also lost my husband, my life partner. Today, my children are living their lives, but I continue to fight, especially for my grandsons who give me the strength to move forward. My story is that of a woman who lost everything but never lost her determination. I am a survivor and a fighter. My name is Victoire, and I continue to get up every day to build a better future.