Widow: Never Let Age Compromise Your Goals
Never let age compromise your goals. That is the advice from Dilshad Begum, who graduated with a Culinary Certificate from the Fiji Muslim League Makoi Women’s Vocational Training Centre yesterday.
The 48-year-old widow, who lives in Suva, is a mother of three children.
She thanked the Fiji Muslim League for thinking of the needs of women her age when it came to learning and becoming something in life.
“My husband passed away nine years ago, and it was not an easy task to raise three children on my own,” she said.
Ms Begum said she had to do something to earn for her family.
“I was always interested in cooking and baking and after I heard about this vocational centre, I decided to give it a go,” she said. She added that before her enrollment at the centre she was a babysitter.
“My children are very supportive, and I will never lose my battle,” Ms Begum said. Meanwhile, Rainaz Nisha, 37, of Narere, who also graduated from the centre with a Culinary Certificate, said she believed in equality.
She said her husband was a taxi driver, and the only breadwinner in the family, and she wanted to support him.
“My husband told me about this centre and he motivated me to learn new skills and start my own business,” she said.
Additionally, she was fortunate to be provided the platform to network with teachers who did not demoralise her.