“I see to the welfare of the women. If someone is sick, I try to help out. When someone gives birth, I visit.”

For 34 years, Comfort Kwakye has sold yams, the vegetable mainstay of the Ghanaian diet. Responsible for 64 yam sellers, Comfort is also a member of the 31 December Women’s Movement, which represents women nationally and runs a market child care center.

Several of Comfort’s children are in school. One son attends a technical college; one is an apprentice mechanic; the third attends secondary school. “I take the money from selling yams and put it to their education,” she says.