27 Aug 2014

When his father became frail and could not run the family business anymore, his son, Mr Antony Titus, had no choice but to sacrifice his studies by taking over the family legacy.

His father’s sight had now become impaired and, at the tender age of 18, and still a Form Four student, Mr Titus was bold enough to drop out of school in order to fill in his father’s big shoes.

“It was not an easy decision to make, but I was forced to leave school and take over the reins because the business had always been our only source of income,” he said in an interview.

The enterprising teenager said he had always been his father’s right hand man from an early age, so he knew everything about the business, which involved welding a few kilometres from Tsabong at Omaweneno in the Kgalagadi district.

“The location is good because here we have reliable materials and electricity,” he said, adding that he produced donkey carts and bugler bars mostly, and that he was available and ready to be called for a welding job any day any time.

The young man said the he made the donkey carts from old unused car bodies he bought from all over the district, adding that his market for the donkey carts was Kgalagadi North where most people are too eager to buy.

The Kokotsha-born young man said he was facing many challenges like the lack of transport to deliver his goods to his clients. He further said some of his customers did not pay him well as they usually paid half of the amount charged. “They will never come back to clear their balances,” he complained, adding that the shortage of materials was also a challenge because often he was forced to sit and do nothing whenever there were no materials

His goal is to have a bigger business and more trustworthy and understanding customers because he wanted to have money so that he could resume his education.

However, he consoled himself saying he could try distance learning just so the family business continued side by side with his schooling. He further said that he wanted to employ workers so that he could teach and share his experience with others.

He said he had not yet tried any government programmes because he still felt that he was not eligible to apply because of his age. However he said he would try with time because he wanted to learn more about business.

He advised young people to finish their studies first so that they could have a brighter future, adding that a business needed one with a proper business plan, passion, and everything that comes with education. Ends