By Ajara Ali (UB Journalism Student On Internship In Buea)
Many who saunter through the paved road leading to the Cameroon GCE Board in Sandpit Buea, might be irked by the location of his workshop.
Nchangi at work
A crumbling plank house located less than a metre away from the road. When it rains, the speeding cars spill water on Joseph Nchanji. But this father of five stoically holds on to his job: repairing television and radio sets.
A very busy man, you will hardly see him in a recumbent posture as he is always bent over screwing, unscrewing, or tying up cables in a radio or TV set.
When your correspondent ambled into his workshop, recently, Nchanji had buried his nose in a TV set, surrounded by costumers. This has been his job for the past 15 years. And, Oh heck! Who says Nchanji has not been able to eke a living out of it?
Always leaving his house early every morning for his workshop, Nchanji after three years of training, left his native Nkambe in the Northwest Province for Buea, where his uncle set up a small workshop for him in Great Soppo. Nchanji, 38, is able to pay for the education of his children and provide their basic needs.
But Nchanji complained times are hard now. "Things have not been moving on well lately because of hardship. People are not able to pay for the repairs of their televisions or radios, some even abandon their electronics in my workshop, others abandon their TV sets because the parts they are asked to buy is too expensive," Nchanji explained.
Some customers, too, become aggressive when told their TV sets or radios are irreparable. "They even pick a quarrel with me when I tell them some of the parts needed for repairs are expensive," he said. The corollary is that the customer abandons his TV set with the repairer.
Nchanji also has to face the challenge posed by new technology. "Things have not been moving smoothly for me because I did my training when electronics like computer, VCD did not exist. I am doing what I know best. That is what I have been trained to do."
Nchanji arrived in Buea in the early 90s when a TV set could be repaired between FCFA 5000 and 10,000 but now he repairs TV sets for FCFA 1000, and radios for FCFA 200. "I risk going home without a dime if I do not accept such offers," Nchanji explained.
To cope with the rising cost of living, Nchanji helps his wife in the farm.
"The farm provides food for my family while the money I make from the workshop helps me procure some basic needs like clothing, drugs and school fees for my children."
Nchanji recognises and gives thanks to God who has been helping his family.
"I am a happy man. With the little I have, I am able to feed, educate and provide shelter for my family," he stated.
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Posted by: Carey Lawrence | Monday, 21 January 2013 at 06:49 AM