From Rags to Riches; How I Built My 3 Million Home From My Fish Business, Says Siaya Woman

From Rags to Riches; How I Built My 3 Million Home From My Fish Business, Says Siaya Woman

Compiled By Lilian Wamaitha
How far are you willing to go to succeed?
When I first read the story of the fishmonger who has managed to build a 3 million home from that business, I was hooked.
Not every day, you read stories of people who have risen above the shackles of poverty to claim a seat in the millionaires club.
A form two drop out
Born in Siaya County, from a humble background and a family of four, Cynthia Adhiambo Juma had no other option but to drop out of school in form two.
“My family was not well-off. So we always struggled. At form two, we could not sustain it. I then dropped out to think of how to get out of that kind of poverty. I’m the first born in a family of two girls and two boys. You can now imagine of the responsibilities which surround some first borns,” Cynthia Adhiambo told the Standard.
Without a good education, she had no choice but to accept an invitation to work in Nairobi even if it meant doing casual jobs.
She says that she could not afford to be choosy and took up any job that came by. This saw her work at several mjengo businesses in 2010 for about a year.
“It’s never an easy job for any woman, being pushed on and lifting concretes,” she narrates.
Moving to Mombasa
In 2011, knowing how she was struggling, her mother would refer her to someone she knew in Mombasa who owned a fish business.
Cynthia packed her bags and moved to Mombasa. Her job was to fry and sell fish earning 200 shillings a day.
Though her pay was little, she was determined to make it in life and set a good example for her siblings and it saw her start saving the little she was getting.
“I worked hard while studying how things are done with a view of opening my small shop-for the same business,” she says, adding that, “I saved some coins and opened my own shop-though small in size, in 2012.”
Fast forward to today. Six years down the line, after moving to Mombasa, her life has transformed and she is now an inspiration to many that you don’t have to have a big job to make in life. She is a school dropout but her life has transformed in a major way.
She has expanded that small shop she opened with the little savings to a fish business that supplies major hotels in the coastal region.
“I’m now happy to be my own boss. I have successfully expanded the business in all fronts. I supply fish to various hotels and clubs in the city,” she said.
Some of the big hotels that she supplies fish to in Mombasa include, Masai Resort and Kenya Ports Authority.
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“At one point, I was a mtu wa mkono at construction sites, but because of my fish business, I’ve built my parents a Sh3 million home in Busia,” she said. “Technically, I’m a millionaire,” she quips.
Cynthia is a true definition of what hard work and determination can do. Are you still looking for a job or a purpose in life? You can learn a thing or two about success from her.
Source; The Standard