03 Mar 2014

Mr Kesekile Rabasimane is one dedicated brick layer, always busy, engrossed and occupied with the passion that puts bread on his table.

Born at Khakhea in the Mabutsane Sub-District 54 years ago, Mr Rabasimane said he had a tough time growing up because his parents were poor. As a result, he was forced to drop out of school at an early age.

“I was born in a family that struggled to survive. I remember my father always waking up early every morning to go and look for piece jobs and returning late at night when we were fast asleep. He usually worked as a labourer for local construction businesses. They usually paid him little for his services.

“My mother also had to work hard to sustain our family. She worked hard at the fields growing crops for consumption and usually sold surplus to gain income to buy other items needed by the family. That is how I grew up. I grew up on the hard-side of life.

“During weekends and school vacations I used to go with my father when he went to work. I marveled at their work and watched them closely while they work. I began to fall in love with what they were doing. My interest for building grew. I was only 14 years old at the time,” he said.

In early 1975, when he was only 15-years-old and approaching teen age, tragedy struck the Rabasimane household. His father died.

The family began to experience an increased share of difficulties when shortage of money, food and other basic necessities worsened. Mrs Firstname Rabasimane struggled to provide for her seven children. With the help of his three elder children; two sons and a daughter she worked hard to sustain her family.

Tragedy struck again eight months later when Rabasimane’s mother died. The double blow was too much for the Rabasimane children. They were left as orphans and had to fend for themselves. The three elder children worked extra hard to keep the family intact, working as farm hands and domestic servants to provide for their younger siblings.

Rabasimane said the death of his parents hit him and his siblings hard and he as the fourth born child ended up dropping out of school at age 16 when he was doing standard four to help his three elder siblings in providing for the family.

“It was painful for me to see my peers going to school while I went to people’s fields to work,” he said, with tears welling up his eyes.

Most of the time, Mr Rabasimane worked as a labourer for brick layers and the knowledge that he gained when he accompanied his father to work became handy. worked very hard and in no time he knew almost everything about building- brick-laying, plastering, painting and roofing but employers did not appreciate his work and usually paid him little money.

In 1990, Rabasimane went to Jwaneng to look for greener pastures. Upon arrival in Jwaneng, he said that he instantly found work in GG Construction Company as an apprentice.

He said that during his stay in GG Construction Company his knowledge about building and construction improved. He said that he continued to work hard and always showed respect to his employers.

Two years later, he had acquired five certificates: for brickwork, roofing, painting, plastering and plumbing, representing qualification he obtained when he served GG Construction Company as an apprentice. The company then promoted him to be a supervisor.

“My manners, hard work, intelligence and respect for both my employers and co-workers earned me their trust, respect and satisfaction and they promoted me to be a supervisor.

I was very happy at this promotion because it was accompanied by an increment in my salary, which was good because it meant more money for me and my family.

Things began to improve at my family. My siblings started to enjoy decent meals, le rona re ne ra simolola go tshwana le bana ba malwapa a mangwe, re itse gore phaleche e shabiwa ka nama (meaning, we began to be like children from other households who lived better lives. We began to know that pap is eaten with meat),” Rabasimane said, with a smile.

He worked for GG Construction Company until 1994. In that company, he had good working relations with managers because of his behaviour and commitment to work. He used some of his earnings to support his younger siblings.

In 1994, Rabasimane left GG Construction Company to work on his own. He won tenders from individuals but business suffered because some clients cheated him, failed or refused to pay him. Part of the problem was inexperience labour, which caused delays in production.

Also his labourers were inexperienced and this delayed production as he did all the work most of the time.

However, Rabasimane collected himself again and joined the Southern District Council as a brick layer based in Mabutsane where his work ethic earned him recognition in the form of a certificate of appreciation as the best brick layer in the council’s workforce.

He said it took him five years to save enough money to start his building business again. In 2005, he ended his journey with Mabutsane Sub-Council and focused on resurrecting his building business.

He said that this time he was much wiser and well equipped for the building industry.

No one was ever going to cheat him, especially when he had so much experience in building and construction as well as looking at the aesthetic value and quality of the buildings he constructed while still at Mabutsane Sub-District Council.

He hired experienced labourers and the team built houses for individuals in Kokotsha, Werda, Makopong, Draaihoek, Maralaleng, Kisa, Omaweneno, Tsabong, Kolonkwaneng, Bogogobo, Middlepits and Khuis.

It was a great start for him, and an impeccable service too because he secured himself a bigger market through a word-of-mouth promotion by clients.

His business flourished and money started flowing in. Even when more money was coming in and his business growing fast, Rabasimane still kept his cool, never forgetting his humble beginnings and upholding his long held tradition of caring for his younger siblings and saving.

He kept his tradition of humility, hard work, respect, patience and commitment. Asked what his recipe for success was, Rabasimane said he charged his customers affordable prices.

“You need to be passionate about what you do,” he said. “Always be patient and don’t expect immediate returns. It takes a bit longer to make it, and commitment will ensure that you don’t lose steam even when the going is tough.”

Rabasimane said that in a good business year, his business is able to build and maintain between six to seven houses.

He is looking into increasing the number of his employees from three to a bigger number to extend his services to a broader market as well as to give his business an opportunity to grow to greater heights. He is planning to register a construction company which will diversify work to include road works.

His advice to unemployed youth, especially from poverty stricken families, is that they should vault over discouragement. He said the background of poverty should never be an excuse for anyone to scale obstacles. ENDS