YOU WILL WRITE AGAIN
“I was so happy when I saw the advert because I knew my dream was only a sniff away, my suffering was on its way out of my life”, he explains with a somber look.
Rabson, a father of one dropped out of school when he had just completed his junior certificate exams.
“I had no plans of dropping out school”, Rabson narrates, “it was around 2003 when both my parents died in a car accident”, when you hear this, most of you have already known what Rabson says next; he had no one to pay for his school fees and could not be supported by his relatives.
After staying for a year out of school, one Sunday in 2003 he went to church at Lunzu Catholic Parish in Blantyre. Here is where he came to see a vacancy that the priests and some German missionaries were looking for J.C.E holders to be trained as electricians, plumbers and shoe makers.
“I segmented my market, I knew who I would provide my services to the students and I have been working hard at what I do. This is what makes me who I am today”. This is part of Samuel Rabson’s advent as a shoe maker plying his enterprise outside the Polytechnic in Blantyre starts.
“Today, I manage to support my wife and kid”, he smiles as he speaks.
“But when the list of those who had applied came out, I was told I could only study shoe making”, explains Rabson.
“I was disappointed but I had nothing to do so I had to pick what was on the table”.
On 10th August 2004, Rabson started his shoe making studies. But despite having found something to do Rabson did not know what the future had for him.
“I was not clear on what we were going to do after the studies considering that we had no many shoe making companies in Malawi”, adds Samuel.
But as things turned out, Rabson and friends saw a brighter future ahead of them.
After being trained for over a year, Rabson and friends were told that they would be given loans to start their own businesses. But another setback came in, the Germans who trained them left earlier before they had fulfilled their promises.
“I was frustrated, so were my friends”, showing some dismay explains Samuel.
He and the colleagues had nothing to do and felt betrayed. But he does not hold any grudges for the people that trained him. Partly, he is where he is today because of them, as he elaborates.
After lying idle, an idea came up in his mind. He packed up his luggage in preparation to leave for the capital city, to look for luck. He worked for an unspecified job which he fails to describe. Failing to describe the job he got in Lilongwe is testimony enough that all did not go on well.
In the same year he called it quits. He was heading back home like a prodigal with nothing to show back home.
“I was deeply frustrated, this is where I saw my opportunities” laments Rabson, “but the heavens did not give me a kind look and there I was”.
Instead of giving up because of the frustration he had encountered, Rabson believed he could utilize something he had to uplift himself. At a tender age of 21, according to Samuel, it was quite hard to pick up a job as a shoe maker.
“I was ashamed, but there was nothing I could do” says Rabson. “I was trained to handicraft new shoes, but I was forced to mend people’s shoes, and with each passing day I mastered it”, explains Rabson of how he came to start mending shoes.
After pondering about where to conduct his business, The Polytechnic came to his mind. This is where he has been since the year 2007.
“I am happy when the students open for school here because I know my business is on” smiling speaks Rabson.
He adds, “But when the holidays are here, I am worried and most of the times I do not even bother to come”.
Despite the setbacks he has faced in his life, Rabson who hails from Matindi in T/A Kapeni’s area in Blantyre still believes he has a brighter future.
“After I knew I belonged to shoe making, I have always dreamt myself owning a shoe company” hopefully speaking Rabson says.
“I think of partnering with somebody to arrive at this dream, it is very hard to achieve it man alone.”
“I only have the expertise of shoe making”, Says Rabson.
This is the major reason that has kept Rabson outside the premises of the Polytechnic in Blantyre. And there are no plans that he might be moving away soon.
“This is where I find my butter”, boasts Rabson.
Initially he had hoped of importing raw materials from Zimbabwe. But according to him, the raw materials became expensive the moment whites were evicted from Zimbabwe. The only option that remained was Botswana and this even made it worse.
His dreams could not materialize. He had no capital to do this. When he went to the banks, he could not get the assistance he needed.
“The banks asked for collateral which I did not have”, he complains.
“I was advised to improve on my savings”, says Rabson.
“I was given a target to save, when I reach that target, I can be able to apply for a loan”, a disappointed Rabson adds.
He further stresses that depending on the nature of his business, he has not been able to save the required amount several years from the date he applied for a loan.
However despite dropping out of school soon after his J.C.E exams, Rabson did not give up on his education. Last year he sat for the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) exams and has done so this year too in a bid to improve his certificate.
“To the youth and those just staying idle, I advise them to find something to do”, advises Rabson.
“It’s not the manner you get your money that matters; it’s how it helps you and alleviates you”.
But he is quick to add that he does not mean that people must steal or get their money through unclean ways.
“Money must be rightfully earned” laughs Rabson whilst clarifying.
“I dream of bigger things, only if I had the resources, I should have been able to realize my dreams”, this is how Rabson’s story ends on paper.
But he stresses that if he still has days to live, his story does not end here.
“I hope you will have something to write about me again”, Rabson smiles as I wave him goodbye
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