Inspiration: Meet Maryam, mother of 5, who survives on peeling potatoes

 by Christiana T. Alabi,

Maryam Saleh is a mother of five who in spite of nursing a little baby has refused to stay idle at home. She engages herself with peeling of Irish potatoes for a restaurant in Kaduna.
Daily Trust reporter observed Maryam carrying her baby with one hand while using the other to peel a heap of potatoes in front of her.

She told Daily Trust that she recently started the work because she needed money to help herself, her husband and children.Maryam used to sell food stuff before it collapsed, after using her sales to pay her son’s school fees, she told Daily Trust.
“When my 15-year-old son wanted to go to secondary school, there was no money then, so I had to sell the goods in my shop and used the money to send him to school because I know that children’s education is very important for their future,” she narrated.
The hard working mum of five peels two buckets of Irish potatoes daily. Afterwards, she sweeps the floor and washes the plates before closing for the day.

She receives a wage of N6, 000 monthly. In spite of the paltry sum, Maryam said she will help her husband who is a farmer, in the family upkeep.
“I don’t want a situation where my children will want something as cheap as N100 or N500 and I will not be able to afford it and I also don’t want my children to misbehave or follow bad friends because we cannot meet their basic needs,” she says. Her husband is a rice, maize and millet farmer among others.

She advised women not to remain idle but to get busy even though their husbands may be working. Staying idle, she says is not a sign of wellbeing and comfort.
“There is nothing wrong with a woman working and getting money so as not to become a liability to her husband. Of course, it is the responsibility of the man to take care of the home, but with the economy of Nigeria today, both husbands and wives need to work, however little, to keep the home moving so that in the case of emergency, the woman would be able to step in and rescue the family,” she stressed.