Assistant: Mukina M Mgonja, 30
Opening hours: 7am – 10pm, 7 days a week
Business: corner shop
All over Tanzania you can find the most amazing small shops where nothing seems impossible. In Mgonja shop most people come to buy rice and drinks, but you could just as well walk away with some bread, juice, shampoo, toothpaste and why not a kerosene lamp or some flip flops, or perhaps a new hair extension?
Mukina started to work in the shop when his uncle opened it up five years ago. In Tanzania, state schools teach in Kiswahili, the national language in primary school, but switch to English in secondary, proving a difficult transition for most students. Mukina failed his secondary school final examination and it is difficult to get qualified work. He is now dreaming of starting his own shop and his uncle has helped him to get on the way.