Pushed to the wall: 26-year-old Chido Xavier hawks bedsheets in Yaounde to sustain family

At the age of 26, Chido Xavier has been hawking bedsheets in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaounde, for five years now.

He says it’s the only way he can provide for his parents and other family members who solely rely on him for sustenance.

Every day, he carries neatly-folded bed sheets and pillow cases on his head, some hanging on his arms, as he treks several kilometres around town hoping to sell.

This has been his routine since 2018, when armed conflict got him and his family displaced from their home in the North West Region of the country.

He faces this daily reality alongside thousands of other young Cameroonians who also hawk items on the streets to make a living.

Not only is the bedsheet business slow due to the influx of many youths into it, but it is also strenous, Chido tells MMI.

But being the only one his entire family looks up to, he has no choice but go through this daily struggle.

“I have tried all I could to make the best out of myself by trying to fight poverty. I’m the only on who can help out my family,” he says.

“Many at times, I can’t pay my bills because I don’t make much out of what I go though in the streets of Yaounde every day,” he tells MMI.

To expand his customer base, Chido says he supplies bedsheets to people who are out of Yaounde or anywhere in the country.

“I can supply wherever the customer may be around Cameroon,” he says.

He dreams of setting up his own shop, or becoming a supplier, or expanding the business to include other items, but he is limited by finance.

If supported, he says, he can make this dream become a reality and actually contribute in fighting poverty in Cameroon, which is his goal.

“I have have become used to carrying an I think if I can be promoted or given a little push, I will change my status through selling it.”

You can also contribute in fighting poverty in Cameroon by helping determined young people like Chindo Xavier meet their goals.

His contacts: 670 028 776 / 695 108 345

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