I Used What I Had to Get What I Wanted

To Escape the Streets, I Used What I Had to Get What I Wanted

Before your mind runs wild, let me explain.

I was 17.

Living on Odo Street in Obalende, in a brothel.

I cleaned for the girls in exchange for a place to sleep. After escaping the uncle who tried to sexually abuse me.

One day, I was hungry and I genuinely did not have money.

So I asked one of the girls in the brothel if she could lend me some.

She looked at me and said,

“Use what you have to get what you want.”

That was all.

No explanation.

No TED Talk.

Nothing.

Now, this is where being naive helped me.

Because I took that advice literally.

I went and found a piece of paper and started writing.

What do I have?

What can I do?

I can make hair.

I can knit.

I can weave mats.

I can cook.

I can make Zobo.

I can make Chin Chin.

I can make Kunu.

I just kept writing things I had learned from watching my mother over the years.

Then I looked at the list and asked myself,

Which one can I actually start with?

The answer was Zobo.

The same girl eventually gave me ₦200.

That was my business capital.

₦200.

I bought dried hibiscus flower (Zobo) and sugar.

Borrowed the things I couldn’t afford.

Made my first batch of Zobo.

Sold it.

Made another batch.

Sold it too.

And just like that, my first business was born.

Looking back now, I don’t think the biggest gift was the ₦200.

It was the advice.

Today, when I sit with girls in our programmes, I often share a version of that same lesson.

I tell them

What you have is enough.

Your skills.

Your ideas.

Your knowledge.

Your hands.

Your mind.

Start there.

Because when life becomes difficult, it is easy to believe you have no options.

I know that feeling.

I have lived it.

But I also know this

Your body is not your only option.

What is already in your hands is more powerful than you think.

For me, it was a Zobo recipe and ₦200.

And that was enough to change the direction of my life.

Maybe that is why my work Beyond The Classroom is so important to me.

Because I know what it feels like to think you have nothing.

To think you have no options.

To think everybody else has the answer except you.

So when I sit with girls today and they tell me they have nothing, I understand.

I used to think the same thing.

Until somebody asked me to look again.

And when I did, I found a Zobo recipe, a few skills and ₦200.

Turns out that was enough to change the direction of my life.

Maybe that is why I keep doing this work.

Because sometimes girls at risk don’t need saving.

Sometimes they just need help seeing what is already in their hands.

#RKD #RaquelKashamDaniel