“Hello, my name is Parfaite Nimbona, and I am a single mom and a member of Pilgrims VICOBA group in Burundi.
Parfaite and her son.
Over the last five years I have tried multiple small businesses (selling clothes, women’s products…) but because they all seemed to fail in the first year, I had concluded that business was probably not for me. I became very discouraged because with few prospects of employment, I was becoming very anxious about the future. But during VICOBA training, I realized it is not so much that I was bad at business, but that maybe I was getting involved in the wrong kind of business.
With the help of our facilitators, we had many conversations where they helped me to discover where could be my skills as well as my enjoyment. And looking back I have always been fascinated with cooking, but I never considered it too much. But they challenged me and helped me to see the big picture of what it could become; they arranged for me to pursue a two-month training and now I feel ready move into the next phase.
My goal, beginning next year, is to earn some money training other people (especially household helpers) who would want to improve their cooking skills, and at the same time, start a small catering shop. I know it will take time to develop, but at least I feel very confident and comfortable about what I can offer. Thanks for all your help along way. God bless you.”