Chronicle Editor
Rejoyce Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
FROM a rocky upbringing, raised by a single mother in the rural areas of Plumtree, to struggling in business, 26-year-old Ms Gracious Nokuthula Ngwenya’s life has been a catalogue of struggles until now.
Now when she looks back, she beats her chest with pride because she defied all the odds that stood in her way.
Not only is Ms Ngwenya, a mother and wife, she is a growing businesswoman and an aspiring full-time special-needs teacher.
After the death of her father, the sole breadwinner, it became difficult for her mother to take care of her and her sister.
Seeing that she could not get any jobs in the rural areas, the mother moved to Bulawayo with her daughters and started selling bananas at a bus rank.
Ms Ngwenya did her ordinary level at Founders High School. She fell pregnant in her final year when she was preparing to write her final examinations. She only managed to pass four subjects.
As tradition would have it, she got customarily married to the father of her children soon after doing her ordinary level as she was already a mother by then.
Her husband was self-employed, the money he made was not enough to sustain the family. Ms Ngwenya was forced to start selling chicken cuts as a way of getting extra cash.
Ms Ngwenya jokingly tells the Chronicle that she believes she got the good business mindset from her mother.
“From a life that was not easy for my mother, sister and I after my father passed on, I had this pushing move to help my mother who was struggling to make ends meet. So, in 2018 l started selling chicken cuts and did online selling where I was selling weaves that I was buying from Zambia. This was to earn money to supplement my Ordinary level Mathematics that I had failed. I must admit that my mother’s business mindset rubbed off on me and I am grasping it with full force and making the most out of it,” said Ms Ngwenya.
She said the selling kept her going up until a friend of hers advised her to rent a shop at Centenary Building and she did.
Ms Ngwenya said she then started selling clothes and her money was enough for her to travel to Zambia and purchase her stock.
“The business kept on growing and in 2020, I managed to enroll at the United College of Education for a special needs teacher course and this was my dream that came true. I had always wanted to assist children who are slow at grasping concepts.
This is because I have a passion for it. I grew up at a time when teachers would shun these children because of that. My patience and commitment for such children is assisting them in a very big way. While most teachers prefer dealing with clever students, I prefer these special fellows that also need the attention,” said Ms Ngwenya.
She said her business has blossomed, early this year in January she managed to add another clothing shop – ‘Grae’s Fashions’ in Zvishavane and it is thriving.
The young woman said she has recently managed to open a wholesale shop and restaurant in partnership with her friends Valentine Ncube (23) and Mehluli Nyoni (33).
The wholesale shop and the restaurant operate under the title of ‘Veecious-M’, a combination of their names – ‘.
“My dream is to establish Grae’s Fashions nationwide and my advice to all the ladies out there is that only the sky’s the limit, they should keep pushing and never give up till they make it.
“I have hired about 10 people who help with running my businesses. I am grateful to one particular employee of mine, Miss Phakamile Mhlanga. She has been with me since day one, even when times were hard and we did not think business would flourish.”
She said she is creating a legacy for her children so that they do not suffer when she is gone.
“I have bought a house and a car, something I never thought l would be able to do, especially with my background. Being at college and trying to manage the business at times can be a bit challenging but I am coping,” she said.–@ReeSibanda
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