Eight years ago, Theresia John Robert lived in a rented house in rural northern Tanzania, doing farm work and even breaking rocks by hand to make gravel. It was tough work that didn’t leave much room for dreams.
Theresia joined Solar Sister in 2017.
“The changes since I became a Solar Sister Entrepreneur are huge. God has blessed me,” she says. With the income from her clean energy business, she could build her own home – something she once thought was out of reach.
She lights up her customers’ homes and faces with her warmth and charm.
“I show them my happy face, and they become nice to me. They are happy and buy my products,” she says with a laugh.
At first, going out and meeting clients felt intimidating. She was uncomfortable with or used to meeting and talking to many different people. But as she kept going, Theresia gained confidence.
“Now, I’m a big entrepreneur,” she says proudly. “I’ve become famous, and people even come to me!” Still, she travels far to meet new customers. “To build new relationships and meet new customers, you have to go farther and farther.”
Once, she biked to a distant village with 15 lanterns. She sold them all that same day.
Her biggest dream today is to build another house in front of this one and expand her business. But life throws curveballs. Her child recently fell ill, and she spent much of her savings on hospital bills. Still, she’s not giving up. “I have a plan,” she says, “I had to delay it, but I still have the plan.
“Since I started this business, my behavior has changed a lot because, in doing this business, you need to connect with a lot more people than before. So now, I am strong enough to speak to anybody and make anybody understand me. That is a big difference from before.”
Through Solar Sister, Theresia says she’s grown in more ways than one. “Before, I was shy. Now I’m strong and can talk to anyone and help them understand the value of clean energy.” Her neighbors see the difference, too. “Some envy me,” she admits. “They see that I am different and make an income. They see how I built this house and want to be like me.”
When asked what it takes to be a Solar Sister, Theresia doesn’t hesitate: “It takes courage. Not everyone wants to walk around and knock on doors. They feel shy. But for me, it’s become part of my life.”
The business is becoming more difficult because of stiff competition from counterfeit products, which makes it hard to compete on price. “Some customers complain that our products are expensive,” she says. Theresia owns a bicycle, but it broke recently. She’s working to save 50,000 Tanzanian shillings ($18.80) to repair it. She adds that it would be easier to reach distant customers and grow her business if she had a motorcycle.
One of Solar Sister’s donors conducted this interview with Theresia. When asked about having guests, Theresia said that meeting visitors from Solar Sister’s team made her feel recognized and respected.
“It helps build trust in my community,” Theresia smiles. “People see that we are supported. They see we have a guest from far away, and it makes them believe in what we do.”