Mariatou is a member of Ding Ding Bantaba Credit Union, in the Bwiam region. She lives in Sibanor and is a mother of six and works as a cook in the nearby Abca Creek Lodge, an eco-tourism lodge. Mariatou joined the credit union in 2016.  She took her first loan to buy a deep freezer.  She used this to set up a business enterprise to sell ice to people living in her local community.  She is “grateful to her credit union because it supported her with a loan and helped her to earn extra income for her family”.