Bashir Mustapha’s story is a living proof that one’s destiny is not intertwined with his past. He came from a street kid to making a better life and future for his family and the community he hails from, which is Akaruvusha village in Gacuriro; his simple workshop is just below Destiny Bar and Grill on the road to Kinyinya. Now in the prime of his life; he makes a living from making vases from a mixture of cement, sand, and water which he sells to both low-class buyers and high-end premium customers including top hotels like Radisson Blu and Marriott hotels. He also makes outdoor decorations for premium houses. Mustapha managed to overcome competition with innovation, experience, and the uniqueness of his style. But the journey from the ‘gutters’ to self-sufficiency wasn’t without its challenges and he struggled in the beginning to make a name for himself in the business. As he narrated, he was born 35 years ago in Dar es Salaam where as a young man he was apprenticed to his father’s vase making workshop. Here he learned the secrets behind the trade and his father groomed him well, however being a free-spirit, he became alienated with his dad and he decided to move out and strike off on his own. ‘I was a street child from the age of 19 and life was full of mishaps. I did all types of odd jobs to make ends meet but things were not working, then one time a vase-maker just beside the highway took me in and I became his employee and that was my first leap from abject poverty,” he added. To escape street life for good, the idea of crossing over to Rwanda came to his mind and as soon as it happened, he says this helped him change his life for good. It’s been now ten years down the line since Bashir ventured into the pot making business, was a dream come true because through this, he found his wife Angelique Manikuze, to whom they have two children together. “While in the street, there was no way I would have made a family. Besides being able to take care of myself, having people who are part of me is just all I wanted in life and I would say this is my happiness,” he said. Achievements According to Bashir, the only way to achieve fulfillment in this world is to work hard. In addition to vase-making, he said it has sustained him and has been able to acquire a plot of land at Kabuga where he plans to put up a house for his family in near future. Paying school fees for his children is also something Bashir is proud of and he said he does it with ease from his earnings. He added that although he faces stiff competition from the many makers of pots who have similar operations around Gacuriro and Kibagabaga, he has managed to remain in business. However, he managed to overcome this with innovation, experience, and the uniqueness of his style where he employs a different kind of types for his pots. Bashir is also one of the pioneers of making pots using cement as opposed to clay which has been common around. For now, he has three youth whom he has employed on a temporary basis and pays them according to how many pots they have made. According to him, some make as much as Rwf 10,000 per day depending on the work they have at hand. Depending on the size and decoration of the pot, his pots range from Rwf5, 000 to Rwf 20,000.
