As the world economic status continues to change due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have diversified from one line of business to another as a way of earning a living.
This has mostly affected the youths who were initially unemployed even before the pandemic. However, there are a few youths who have managed to overcome this by utilizing the little pennies they had to improve their living standards.
In our special story of a campus hustler, today we have interacted with Mugenyi Justus a medical student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST).
Unlike other university students, Justus balances studies and his side business of selling shoes to his fellow students which sustains his needs as a medical student. He narrated his ordeal to Campus Bee as shared below;
I’m Mugenyi Justus Kizito, a 3rd-year student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery.
Having completed my A-level in 2016, I first did medicine and surgery at the KIU-Ishaka branch for a year in 2017 and because of some unavoidable circumstances, I then later changed to MUST in 2018.
What has really been my inspiration mostly to start the shoe business is the social capital I have amongst the students. I am not a leader in any position or office at my University, but because I am social, linguistic with the ability to speak many languages and a friendly fella to many, I realized I had almost known every student at the University.
I usually have some samples (of shoes) with me in my room at Hostel since my biggest consumers are students. It’s my many friends who have continuously supported me.
The only challenge I have is I hardly have ample time to concentrate on the business. Being in the medical faculty with many lectures and the Hospital placements haven’t made me balance.
I would like to advise fellow youths not to undermine jobs/work, regardless of the course, they’re pursuing whether medicine, engineering, agriculture. Youths should also embrace the culture of working for themselves to stop the mentality of begging from others.
My target is that, if all goes well, I will expand and I shall have my Store in Mbarara and employ many youths.
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