When Kizigenza was a teenager, he grew up in an extended family. Life was not easy back then but he lived his whole life working so hard to see his family’s growth. He would always make sure to help the parents to bring bread on the table. He was working as a sales agent whereby anyone who needed to buy a house would get through to him. In short, he was self-employed. His parents were farmers where they grew tomatoes every year. Kizigenza was the second born in the family of six. He had one brother and four sisters.
His four sisters are in the age between fourteen and twenty-six. His brother is twenty-two years old. Other children never showed interest in helping the parents to bring something on the table. When they were demanded to contribute to the family, they would say that “It is not our duty to feed the parents but it is the parents duty to take care of them”. A lot of people could mock Kizigenza for pretending to be the helper yet their parents are still alive. They would say, “One day, you will regret what you are doing because it is too much as a child at home”. Other people could say, “ You are dumb”. Kizigenza could not respond to the mockery.
In his mind, he was thinking of insulting them but he could not do it because he is a peaceful person. He would just leave without saying anything. However, he never cared about what other people said and focused on the development of his family. He bought a garden that his parents used to grow tomatoes for the development of his family.
Kizigenza got many customers that bought houses from him. In a month, he was able to sell three to five houses. He made sure to save money from the business he was doing. Due to saving money, Kizigenza managed to get a capital for starting a business. Unfortunately, Kizigenza did not open an account but he was giving the money to her mother to keep it for her. When he asked his mother about the money, the mother told him that “The money is not available. I gave birth to you and carried you for nine months in my womb”. This was a very disappointing moment for him since he trusted his parents so much. Kizigenza never told them anything after. He just walked away due to disappointment from his mother. His thoughts were telling him to just leave her parents house since it’s stressful.
When he tried to talk to his father about the issue, he told him that “Parents are not a bank and parents never enter into a debt with children”. From the day Kizigenza heard this from his father, he decided to leave and started living on his own. He stopped providing anything to the family and decided to open his own bank account that he would use to keep his money.
Kizigenza regretted why he never did this before and why he never listened to the people who used to tell him to not involve himself in the duties of parents. His perspective was to start doing things alone without staying with his parents anymore. After a period of three years, the account was shining more than the way it was when he opened it. He had triple the money his mother refused to give back to him. He opened a business whereby he was selling farming equipment. Kizigenza’s business is thriving and he is now planning to open another branch in the capital city, Lilongwe.
17 June, 2023
