Cushions maker

WHO AM I?

I am a mother of 10 children. I like to help my children, even at this moment. I like to help everybody, anyone, if I am able to do so. I want to work hard for myself.

Know who you are. What you want to do in life

In life, it is important to know who you want to be and what you want to do. Know who you are, this is very important to be able to care for yourself and your children. You should know what to do and what your life should look like. First, you have to be responsible for yourself so that you can be responsible for others.

– How can you find that out?

You have to look at the surroundings, what is around you. Your parents, family, neighbors, how they live, how they behave and how they raise their children. Through that we can get an example of exactly how to raise our children, how to behave and get to know each other. I came a long way before I arrived at where I am today in life. I was married, my husband was not good to me and my children; life was sad. I started having these thoughts:; why do I allow him to hurt me and my children? I decided that I would start working to be independent and be able to buy food on my own. I started with a small business of selling foodstuffs. This was my answer to finding myself. I started to do something to change my situation and change myself. I have always searched for new opportunities. When you search for them, they will always come your way, you will always find some of them, you just have to be open and search for them.

Science

Children should be provided with three things: values, food and education. Learning is the most important thing. If you learn, you will be knowledgeable and you will be able to build your own life and that of your children.

Do not fight

Just be polite to someone who is not nice to you; this is our principle. I have taught my children to live in harmony with other people, that they would find a way to this harmony, that they would be good people and that they would respect others. When they are in conflict with another person, that they find a solution using their wisdom, but never fighting. That  they would always think positively and behave well; that’s what I taught my children. When one person provokes a fight and the other retaliates in the same way – by fighting – there is no room for a solution, only for more violence and more suffering. This conduct will only breed hatred, violence and suffering for both sides. When children grow up together with children from other families or with children of neighbors or friends and one of them starts to fight, everyone around will also start to fight. It will not do any good for anyone. When some children in the community start to behave badly, like smoking cigarettes, drinking and the community only looks at this, nothing good comes of this.

Be good to others

This is our guiding principle in our community. I am nice to another person and this person is nice to me. Other people act in the same way and in this way the entire community is shaped by people who are good and nice to each other. This means that if one person is good and friendly, the other person will also be welcoming. Even when someone is wicked and does bad things; stay calm and be kind.

Stay on your own land, your homeland

I would like to tell young people that life is right here; that they should not go to Europe in search of a happier life. They can stay and work here, build their homes here; this is the place that will feed them. This is their home. Here is the land that will give them work, here they can get an education and find their way. The answer is not Europe; the answer is where their homeland is.

Money brings happiness, but only if it comes from your own work

Money alone without earning it does not bring happiness. I would like to tell people that life’s worth is finding a job, working, earning their own money and finding something that gives them pleasure in life. And that’s what gives me pleasure. The fact that I work hard, I earn my own money and that I do not have to ask anyone for it. I like to come to my workplace and sometimes spend all day here. Then I go back home, and ponder over many things, but I keep asking myself, “What other things can I do now? Maybe I should make some juice; children who come back from school can buy it for TZS 200 – 300.” I collect small amounts and I am happy to see them multiply. I can even do it at home now; I continue to work as much as I can