in loco fellows blog series #4: Grab every opportunity that comes your way because you never know where it will lead

Being a fellow changed the way I perceived myself and the world around me. After a car accident I experienced in 2015, which made me lose my memory, I never thought I would ever be myself again.

I am that nice lady, an extrovert nurturer who always wears a smile on her face, creates a peaceful environment and enjoys working with other people. Feeling incompetent because of the accident, I turned to selling printed t-shirts, caps and so on, and promoting developing companies to be well known in and out of the country. Divine Ginger Company and Tlotsa Company are my life examples.

This way of life grew into my love for working and made me think that I could become a better businesswoman because I could fend for myself and also feed my family through this business. While I was doing all these duties, I never thought I would go back to my profession as an Agricultural Education graduate. I had a fear of meeting with other people of the same profession, thinking I am no longer good enough to be in the professional world due to my memory loss during accident.

In July, when I was browsing FaceBook and advertising my stuff, I saw an advertisement for a job application from rise. It caught my attention when I found that it partnered with God’s Love Centre orphanage because as a nurturer, I gain satisfaction by helping others. So I knew it would be a great idea to be part of the in loco program.

This is my third month in rise and I feel very lucky to be part of this fellowship because it is more like a family than a job to me. Rise does not only care about work related issues but is also concerned about personal issues for each fellow. This is because I met a problem health wise, where the pin metals inserted on my pelvis after the accident broke and a doctor prescribed walking less than a kilometer a day. And I thought that day was an end of my fellowship with rise. But to my surprise, they looked for a better way for me to work so that I do not further disturb my fractures. This made me feel at home with the in loco program though this hinders me from exploring more on site works as it is a design and built environment.

I am now an office administrator. It wasn’t easy at first, but it is getting fun with time. I am learning a lot more computer literacy than before and all office administration tasks within the office environment. It is within a short period of time but I have learned so many skills. I am now an Agricultural Education graduate with office administration skills, improved computer literacy, report writing skills, events coordinating skills, quantification skills in the construction industry, carpentry skills and yet to master entrepreneurial skills and many more.

One of in loco’s goals is to transform job seekers into job creators, so this can only be accomplished by starting own businesses. In As part of the in loco fellowship rise, we are provided with business trainings every most Fridays, and this is amazing to me for it is the most important part I enjoy. Ever since I could remember, starting a business has been my dream. So I just want to put it out there that it feels amazing to be part of this fellowship. All in all, after the fellowship, I believe one becomes a better version of themselves holistically.