Jongikhaya Mayekiso: A Taking Care of Business Success Story | Repair Programme (Cape Town)
Jongikhaya Mayekiso
My name is Jongikhaya Mayekiso. My background was not good at all. It forced me to go into business and become self-employed, which was something I didn’t want to be part of. Running my own business was never part of my dreams. Life before TCB was not nice at all – I was depressed and confused. Life, in general, was never good to me. But now I’m better because of TCB.
I didn’t manage to finish school because of my background and circumstances. Sometimes I went to school on an empty stomach, with nothing in the cupboard, and I didn’t know where I would get food. It felt like I didn’t have any options in life. Eventually, I decided to drop out of school.
Now, I am so glad I found the TCB Repair Programme. I realised I want to learn to run a good business – an appliance repair business sounds amazing. I needed more business knowledge and technical skills so that I can run this business well and be able to take care of myself and my children.
My journey with TCB has been good. I am getting more experience in repairing appliances every day and learning new skills. But it is not easy. The mentors share advice and tell us important things – you have to listen and learn a lot! Over time, I see that I am learning so many new things.
At TCB, we learn how to look after ourselves, how to handle stress, manage money, be our own boss, and generate income using our skills and hands.
My dream? In the next two years, I want to own my own official business. I want to dedicate all my time to my business and be successful.
My advice to others who are in a bad situation is: don’t depend on anyone for handouts. Depend on yourself. Learn to take care of yourself. How great it is to be your own boss—having your own way of making and saving money. You can be the boss of your own life!
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Taking Care of Business (TCB) is a nonprofit social enterprise. We are empowering unemployed South Africans and their families to escape the cycle of poverty through small business opportunities, mostly within the circular economy.