From Fear to Opportunities.
Jimmy, who operates an eatery joint, turned his fear of COVID-19 into an opportunity and in the process won a government contract to cook for students under lockdown in the Ashanti Region. He now has a new and expanded mini-restaurant where he serves his customers and still educates them on how to fight COVID-19. He shares his story:
I am a living testimony of how the CoRe Programme has positively impacted many lives. The fear of contracting COVID-19 crippled me and any ideas I may have had. I operate a small fried rice eatery, but my business took a nosedive during the peak periods of COVID-19 principally because I was afraid.
My business involved traveling to Kumasi to buy foodstuffs, but I stopped. I virtually locked myself up as I saw and read how people were dying from the virus. I became largely depressed until the CoRe programme came along.
Interestingly, my first session treated how to deal with my worries and anxieties. I was subsequently taught how to observe the COVID-19 protocols and stay safe even during the pandemic. I started observing them and gradually the fear left. I started travelling to buy my ingredients and suddenly there was a boom.
I turned my fears into an opportunity and, as I speak, I have been able to acquire a new container to expand my eatery business. I have also become a quasi-ambassador for the COVID-19 prevention effort. This involves educating my customers on how to observe the protocols and even distributing face masks to my customers as a token. The most significant development is that I received a contract to start cooking for some of the public schools during the period of the lockdown. I have indeed benefited immensely from this CoRe programme. I wish to entreat the organisers of CoRe to keep up the good work and even expand it so others can also benefit like I have done.