adminRobin Muchetu Senior Reporter
WHEN a person decides to start a business they have what they think are the best laid plans, the vision is to open a booming company, make great profits and spread wings around the city and beyond. They envisage a busy schedule as the business will be booming but at times one’s way is not necessarily the best or right way. Ms Mongiwa Mabhena is a true testimony to this as she tried several business ventures that flopped but has managed to set her feet in the pre-school business which she has been running for the past 10 years.
Ms Mabhena began her journey in 2005 when she set up Bugs Bunny Pre-School in Bulawayo. She said the love of children pushed her in that direction.
“I have four children myself and I love children generally so I decided to open a facility where I can interact with them regularly and I opened the pre-school,” she said.
Looking at the promising venture, she opted for the younger children and opened a nursery in 2007.
“My idea was to have the younger babies from as young as three months being enrolled into a nursery where they are kept the whole day as the mothers are at work but it failed dismally,” she said.
She said the business did not last six months as people showed little interest in the nursery such that she closed that section as it was no longer sustainable. She said it was now costing her more to keep the nursery open and she abandoned the project.
However, she has not completely lost hope in this area as she said with the increase of abuse of children by maids, parents may consider nursery school.
“We have so many cases of child abuse by maids and I am sure parents will consider placing their children at nursery schools where there is more safety and accountability than maids at home,” she said.
She soldiered on with the pre-school but as a woman who was destined for great heights she decided to divert and try her luck in the food industry. It also failed.
“After the failed nursery I did not down my tools, I opened a restaurant in Hillside suburb between 2009 and 2010. Sadly it was not successful as much as I wanted and I had to close it down,” she said.
Ms Mabhena believes that since the outlet was out of the Central Business District, people were hesitant to travel the long distance and she was forced to abandon the project.
She then concentrated on the pre-school after the other two ventures failed.
The education sector where she made her mark is also proving to be a challenge on its own but due to exceptional service that they offer they have managed to retain a good client base. The introduction of Early Childhood Development Centres (ECD) by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education also saw children leaving the pre-schools in droves and going to the primary schools.
“Children did leave but we still have loyal people who believe in us and we have managed to retain a good number of children and we are surviving,” she said.
She, however, urged Government to quickly upgrade current structures so that they are child friendly, considering that schools are taking very young children such that toilets and sinks may be towering over them.
“Things like toilets and sinks need to be modified to suit the young children. The primary schools need to be child friendly, but generally we complement each other with the Government as we will cater for those children that will not go to a primary school for ECD,” she said.
She said despite her failures she is not giving up on anything as she is striving for greatness.
On women empowerment, she said women need to know that they are able and should be willing to try anything.
She said women have to believe in themselves and try out new things because when they do not try they may never realise their full potential. A mother of four children herself, Ms Mabhena said her only daughter has no interest whatsoever in children compared to her but hopes one day she will pursue her dreams of choice.
Bongani Ndlovu