It was a cloudy afternoon in Mtandire when we visited Patricia Msunda, a Tingathe Training Program alumna who graduated in May 2025 after seven months of Tailoring and Fashion Design training. This visit was part of Tingathe’s routine follow-up six months after graduation, a practice meant to check on progress, celebrate wins, and understand the realities our students face as they transition into entrepreneurship.

She welcomed us at home, sitting beside her sewing machine.

Before joining Tingathe, her life had been filled with struggle and questions about the future. “I used to sell bottled water from a small kiosk,” she recalled. The business had potential, but the challenge was that she did not have enough business knowledge. “I didn’t know how to manage the business properly, so it didn’t grow,” she admitted.

Determined to find a skill that would last a lifetime, Patricia chose tailoring. “I knew that with a skill, I could go anywhere and earn money to support my family,” she says.

At Tingathe, Patricia learned a lot of skills apart from sewing. Leadership and Entrepreneurship classes taught her to face hardships, keep business records, and plan for the future. Financial literacy helped her save for her machine and manage her business wisely.

“The training has really changed my life,” Patricia says. “I am not the same as I was before.”

Today, Patricia works from home, producing clothes to sell while supporting her children’s needs. Operating from home is a strategic choice. Rent is high for beginners, and she believes starting small and building gradually is wiser. Every coin she saves now goes back into the business.

The profits she makes may not yet buy her luxury, but they sustain her and prepare her for a bigger future. More importantly, they fuel her dreams.

Through her savings, Patricia plans to increase her working materials and, one day, open a bigger shop that will benefit the Mtandire community. “Having a good supply of materials will allow me to make more products,” she said.

Listening to her speak, it is impossible not to remember the Patricia we first met in 2024—a woman trying to find direction. The Patricia we see today is different. She is bold, skilled, and hopeful, a living proof that change is possible.

If anyone ever doubted the power of vocational education, Patricia’s life should clear those doubts. Vocational training gives identity. It restores dignity. It ignites hope. It transforms people who once felt stuck into confident creators of their own economic paths.

Tingathe believes that wealth that sticks is built on three things: skill, mindset, and opportunity. Patricia has embraced all three.