Inspiration

As i was riding on the bus this morning, i struck up a conversation with this workmate whose daughter i studied with. I remember this lass was quite smitten with me in days gone, in my high school to be precise.

This girl finished college a few years ago and started doing a few odd jobs, did a bit of counselling, then went on to teach nursery school, and other odd and end jobs just to get by, but with the stubborn resoluteness inherited from her mother, no less, she kept trudging on.

This morning, My workmate bursting with joy told me her daughter is now a businesswoman, curiosity piqued, i asked, thinking maybe she was into some humdrum business like fruit selling (no offense) with a flourish, she pulled out a number of soft-back young-level 1 - 4 English and maths books her daughter now writes!!! i was bedazzled! You know the usual "... then John climbed up the mango tree and hid from his mother who was looking for him to do household chores...." (well, she didn't exactly say chores, that would be too advanced for a level 1 - 4, right?) complete with diagrammatic illustrations! On the cover of all books bore her name!

My workmate, now feverish with pride, told me how she injected capital into the business, bought a number of computers, printers and copiers and set her daughter and two sons up in her living room, (daughter writes, her two siblings draw) she continued to say that the house has now become a printery, with her car ferrying printed papers to printeries for binding, and subsequently to bookshops for selling. She now exports books to Rwanda and Sudan, and has started doing market research in areas of Nothern, eastern and Western uganda.
We are talking a girl who came across as young, callow and uninspired not so long ago.

For me, given my interest in writing, and all that comes with it, this is quite an inspiration, that someone i know closely took it and made it professional! Props to her!
Notwithstanding, the books are directed to young English learning, however, everyone starts somewhere, right?

This has struck a chord in me, making money in this town shouldn't only be by selling clothes or shoes, egg farms, real estate etc, i think, Ugandan's minds have reached a discerning stage where we can think outside the box and start creating jobs for ourselves, in addition to being enterpreneurs.

I will meet her later this week for a run-through.