From Less Than $50 to a Thriving Cross-Border Business: How One Mother's Determination Changed Her Family's Future

For years, putting food on the table was a daily struggle for Achol Deng Garang, a mother of five in South Sudan. Working as a casual laborer in a local market, she earned just US$1 a day (about SSP 5,000), barely enough to feed her children, let alone pay school fees or medical bills.

"I worried every day about how I would provide for my family," Achol recalls.

Everything changed when she joined the Shabaka Maisha Project, a social safety net project implemented by UNOPS with support from the Government of South Sudan and the World Bank. Through the project's Labour-Intensive Public Works component, Achol worked three hours a day for 18 days each month, earning US$2.70 per day.

When she received her first payment of US$48.60 (approximately SSP 315,900), Achol made a decision that would transform her life. Instead of spending all the money on immediate needs, she invested SSP 230,000 in a small fish trading business.

She started by buying in small quantities measured in basins and sold in the local market, and this business gradually grew, where she started buying fish in bulk, transporting it across the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and selling it for a profit. She reinvested her earnings together with her second project payment, gradually expanding her business.

Today, the woman who once struggled to survive on one dollar a day runs a successful cross-border fish business, earning more than US$4,000. Her income now enables her to feed her family, pay her children's school fees, access healthcare, and plan confidently for the future.

Achol's story is a powerful reminder that social protection is more than temporary financial assistance, it can provide the opportunity for families to build sustainable livelihoods. What began as an investment of less than US$50 has grown into a thriving business through hard work, determination, and the opportunity provided by the Shabaka Maisha Project.

"I am grateful to the Government of South Sudan, the World Bank, and UNOPS," says Achol. "This project has changed my life. It has given women like me the chance to start businesses, support our families, and dream of a better future."

Achol is one of more than 200,000 vulnerable households supported through the Shabaka Maisha Project, which combines cash assistance with paid community work to help families strengthen their resilience and create pathways out of poverty.

Her journey is proof that with the right opportunity, even a small investment can change a life and inspire an entire community.