Over a decade ago, Helen George started roasting yams at the Rwang Pam street area of Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Sharing the story of how she started her business with Saturday Tribune, Helen said her deceased sister was the one who stood as her guarantor before she could get the yams she started the business with many years ago on credit.
“When I told my sister, who is now late, about my plans to start selling roasted yams, she offered to take me to someone, a Hausa man she had always bought yams from and also stood in as a guarantor for me. A tuber of yam as of then was N130 so I selected 100 tubers worth N13,000.
“After I did, I told the seller that I did not have the money, to pay immediately. He agreed to let me go with the yams saying I should bring the money within four days,” she said.
Helen pleaded for more time because she was just venturing into the business and she needed more time to raise the money after her sales. Interestingly, she said she was able to make the amount within a couple of days.
“The yam seller said I should bring the money in four days but my sister said I was just starting the business so, four days was too short instead he should allow me bring the money after a week and he agreed. I started, and before the week ran out, I was able to gather the money and still had profit within that short period. So, I took the money to him and that was how our relationship started and the business grew,” Helen told Saturday Tribune
With her little business together with her vulcaniser husband, they were able to send their five children to school up to university level. They are all now graduates.
“From the business proceeds, my children went to school one after the other. My husband is a vulcaniser, but thankfully, all the children are now graduates. They graduated from the University of Jos.
“One of them is a banker. Another one saved her allowance during her youth service and started a business when she returned home and she is ‘managing’ herself with that. One of them is a footballer, and he graduated two years ago but has not been able to secure a job. You know how the country is. I am praying for the country to get better so that they can all have better jobs,” she said.
Helen said she is grateful to God for how He has helped her and how the business has been moving and she has also added a few things to the roasted yams. “It wasn’t easy but God helped me and the business is still going on. Initially, I started with just the roasted yams but now I roast plantains as well and I also have beans, the market is going on well and I thank God.”
Helen declared she was not ready to quit her roadside business even when her children offered to open a provision store for her.
“I like what I am doing, my children said I should stop and they would open a provision shop for me but I am used to this business already; I don’t want to quit it.”
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