Why and how I support African women through Ada nne

and why I do not call it "help"  

People often ask me whether buying fabrics from Ada nne means "helping African women". And every time, I pause for a moment before answering. Not because the question makes me uncomfortable. But because the word help sometimes carries a meaning that does not quite fit the reality in Nigeria.

African women selling at markets are not poor because they are weak. The women I know in Nigeria are not passive recipients of help. They are traders, mothers, seamstresses, vendors, negotiators. Women who wake up early, take care of their families, work hard and still find the strength in the evening to sit together, laugh, share stories and continue caring for those they love.

They are not waiting to be rescued.
What they need is space, fair conditions and respect.

When I buy fabrics in Nigeria, I am not standing in an anonymous warehouse. I am standing at a market. I talk to the women who sell the fabrics. To those who support entire families or make a significant contribution to the household income.

To those who pay school fees for their children. To those who slowly build a house from their earnings, often step by step, at their own pace.  Every transaction is an agreement between two sides. It is not charity and it is not a "Western rescue". I pay a price that makes sense to them and to me. And they know I will come back. That I am not a one time customer, but a long term partner. 

Why regular trade matters to me more than one time help 

One time help is visible.
Regular trade is quiet.

But it is precisely this quiet, recurring income that allows women to plan. To plan how to pay school fees, how much to spend on monthly living, how to adapt cooking for the family, whether it is possible to expand a market stall or whether they need to ask a friend for support.

Why I do not call it "saving"?

Because it would not be true.

These women are not "poor African women" waiting for someone to help them. They are entrepreneurs working in an environment that is tough, unpredictable and often unfair.

When someone buys a fabric from Ada nne, they are not sending money to help Africa.
They are supporting specific women by supporting their trade and enabling their business to continue.

That difference matters to me deeply.

Why I do it this way? 

Because Nigeria is part of my family. It is not a "project somewhere far away" that I visited once. It is a place I return to, where I have friends, where half of my children belong. Among people who accept them regardless of the colour of their skin.

Ada nne is not built on guilt.
It is built on relationship.

On trust, continuity, respect and a simple human sense of "we know each other". 💞

What happens when you buy a fabric? 

Maybe you sew a dress.
Maybe a bag.
Maybe just a small piece that brings you joy.

And in Nigeria, someone pays for a school uniform. Someone buys another bundle of fabric. Someone has a slightly calmer month.

Without big gestures.
Without banners.
Simply because the trade continues.

I do not say that Ada nne changes the world.
But I believe that fair trade changes individual lives step by step.