29 Jun 2015

At the age of 27, Ms Percy Chakalisa of Matobo in Tutume Sub-district, has not always had a rosy life. Hers was a struggle from the onset.

Speaking during an interview recently, she said the struggle she went through did not put her down but motivated her to work harder.

Matobo is not a big village where one can get to see the latest trends but this did not deter her to pursue the career of her life in the beauty industry. She said all she ever did while growing up was plait people’s hair and loved beauty treatment. She said she was always determined to start up her own beauty parlour one day.

Though she was raised in a small village of Matobo in the Tutume sub-district with her she has always believed that she was destined for the beauty industry. She mentioned that during her school years she was always concerned about making people look beautiful. 

Armed with a Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education, Ms Chakalisa could not afford to be idle. However, she is quick to mention that the road to realising her dream was not easy as they were a lot of stumbling blocks. She said that after completing her BGCSE she tried working from home in order to save for the beauty business but it proved difficult.

Because of the small village population and lack facilities, the business did not do as expected. She explained that she was unemployed for seven years and depended on a few customers. 

To realise her dream she started looking for a job and said she did not get any job until she registered with the Tirelo Setshaba program in May 2014 where she worked as a health assistant at the village clinic. 

It was at the clinic, where she met people who gave her good advice about business. She enrolled in Tirelo Sechaba for nine month after which she decided to apply for the Youth Development Fund. As lady luck would have it, by December 2014 her application to start the business was approved and she never looked back. 

She mentioned that business is doing well because currently she does not have any competition. She said she is making a lot of profit and she is now able to pay rent for the premises she uses in advance.

’’I make lot of money during weekends and the holidays when most of the people who work in towns are visiting relatives in the village,” she said. 

She noted that she was grateful for what the government did in assisting her to realise her childhood dream.  She said they went an extra mile to offer her tips on how to offer services like manicure and pedicures. 

The week long training lessons that she attended at Shannaz Beauty Palour in Gaborone has made a difference in her business life. 

She said her business is growing and she would like to see it contribute to the society. ENDS