Mama Wears Many Hats, But She Has One Big Dream

So earlier, I said I was going to tell you about the other thing Mama went to do while I made her hand-peeled Egusi soup, right?

It may surprise you to know that Mama wears many hats. And honestly, I have taken after her in that regard. Just name it, and I’m willing and gladly ready to do it, whether I have done it before or not.

Okay, back to Mama.

Mama also sells delicious roasted groundnuts.

She goes to the market and buys about one to one and a half paint buckets of groundnuts. She boils some water and pours it over the groundnuts, then adds salt so that the salt can soak into them properly.

After that, she spreads the groundnuts out to dry. Once they are properly dried, she takes them to the bakery to be roasted. The following day, she goes back to collect them.

Peeling the groundnuts usually takes her two to three days, depending on the quantity. And when I say three days, I don't mean she sits down and peels for three full days. She only spends a few hours each day because she still has to go to work.

Once she's done peeling them, she starts packaging the good ones into small plastic bottles. The bottles are sold for ₦1,200 each, and she buys a dozen for ₦1,400.

The broken groundnuts that she separates while peeling don't go to waste either. She packages those separately and sells them for ₦100 and ₦200, depending on the quantity.

When she's finished packaging everything, she'll give them to me to take to a family member who has a shop at Ketu, Lagos, where they can be sold for her.

Mama doesn't have a shop yet, and selling from the house is quite difficult, so taking them to Ketu gives her a better opportunity to reach customers.

Mama doesn't have a shop.

She doesn't even have the tiniest space for her little business.

But that hasn't stopped her from launching out.

One of the things Mama says almost every day is that she doesn't want to continue doing cleaning jobs in schools anymore. She is so determined to own and run her own business.

And honestly, that is one of the things I pray about.

I pray that God will give me the strength, grace and resources to help me fulfil this wish of hers.

She has worked hard for so many years, and I would love to see her wake up one day knowing that she is working for herself.

If you're like Mama, stuck in a job you're not proud of, or one that can barely put food on your table, yet you can't leave because you have to survive, don't lose hope.

Keep going.

Keep trying.

Keep building, even if what you're building seems very small right now.

God will come through for you, just as I believe He is about to come through for Mama.

It is not over until you give up.

And as long as you haven't given up, there is still hope.