Jirada dressed us in shoes in our childhood, sold us shoes as we reported to High School, continued selling shoes as we went to college, started working and started our families. She has remained the same woman we knew in the market, only difference is that she raised her two daughters single handedly, sustained and grew her business through the ups and downs of the economy, bought herself land and settled her children on the farm, owned properties in town and she is still behind the counter selling shoes to a different generation of customers.
I find her story inspiring because unlike our parents who came to buy land in the Settlement Schemes, Jirada did not have the ability to do it back then. But she did not give up. She did what was available to her. She started small, setting up a stall in the dusty, dirty market, and she stuck with it with dignity. I believe she has prospered more than some of the landowners who were her customers when she was a struggling small time vendor in the market. She is still going strong.
If we can all start where we are, with what we have, work hard and focus on the future, we may never get to the status of Jirada, but I am sure we can move steps ahead from where we started. What is your story? Who will you inspire to tell your story, and what testimony will they give concerning you and your journey?
