I was born in Arcadia in 1957. I am a widow and mother to five children. I began working in 1982, at the age of twenty-five, as a cashier at OK, and I stayed in that role until I turned thirty, when I was promoted to the accounts department as an accounts clerk.
Life in retail was never easy. The salaries were never large, just enough to keep me going. That pushed me to look for other ways to build extra income. Like many people, I relied on loans, but no sooner had I finished repaying one than I needed another. To break that cycle, I started keeping poultry in my backyard for some extra money.
In time, the income from my poultry business actually exceeded my salary, but between the two, I was able to send my children to school. I worked for 41 years in total, and I retired in 2023, after my employer stopped paying salaries. Since then, I've been receiving a pension, currently recorded as ZWG 780 per month, and I now rely mainly on poultry farming to meet my daily needs.
Looking back on everything, I believe it's important for everyone, even those in permanent employment, to build a second stream of income.