'I am the boss and I am the coolie'

SINCE she was small, Rusita Batang, a vendor in Tamu Kianggeh Bandar has been helping her mother sell kueh (cakes) at Kg Ayer as well as run a weekend stall in Bandar and another at the wet market.

Rusita's mother has passed away, but she is continuing her mother's legacy as an entrepreneur to support her four children.

"My only source of income now is my small stall in Tamu Kianggeh selling bananas, coconuts and other local fruits," said Rusita, who is in her mid-50's.

"I enjoy what I am doing now especially as a Bruneian. I am the boss and I am the coolie. I depend on my own abilities," she boasted.

Rusita said her children depend on her as they can't find steady jobs because they didn't finish school. "I just want my family to stay together at Kg Ujung Klinik at the water village," she said.

She added that the oldest is 25 years old now and could not stay long in the companies that he had worked with. She said her son needs to learn to be independent.

"I'm tired. Until when will I be doing this job and who will be looking after my children if I'm gone one day?"

Rusita said she had applied for a zakat support but has yet to receive a reply.

"My first husband passed away almost 20 years ago due to diabetes and years after that my youngest son due to mystery illness," she said.

And now, she is married to an Indonesian man, who helps her run her stall.

Rusita said what she makes is not that big but is enough to sustain her family. Daily income, she said, varies.

"In a good day I could earn up to $80 in sales. Sometimes lower," she said.

For the fruits she sells, Rusita said could only mark up about 10 to 15 per cent because of tight competition.

"I could not change my destiny, but at least I am trying my best to improve my faith," Rusita said. The Brunei Times