BACKGROUND
I was born in 1988 in Jos South local government area in Plateau State. I am of Ngas extraction, my parents , Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Sitkukka are both business owners in Jos. Bent on following their footstep, I established Awtik Beautifiers Centre where I train girls to be self sufficient and financially independent , hence, liberating them from the shackles of poverty. In fact, my Centre, Awtik Beautifiers , is one of the best in Jos town with the state of art equipment for hair making, make -up, nails fixing , footcare and many others.
EDUCATION
I obtained my primary education from Betel private school, Jos, thereafter, I proceeded to COCIN Secondary School, Dadin Kowa , Jos.
Thereafter, I proceeded to the University of Jos, where I obtained Bsc in Economics, my choice was based on my interest in business. I also grabbed Master Degree in Economics from the same University last year.
CAREER
It all started back then in the University of Jos where I developed myself to be financially different from my peers. I learnt trade that enabled me became an entrepreneur today and have this, trained and employed others. All thanks to the one year mandatory NYSC programme initiative of the federal government through which I went a step further to develop my skills in the area of beauty and skin care.
It’s important to mention that my journey started way back from school because with my sister, raised money for our personal effects . So when I returned from service, I got a grant, and opened Awtik beautifiers centre and here we are today.
ACHIEVEMENTS
So far, I have trained 300 girls who are self sufficient and financially independent to take care of themselves and their siblings. These girls are contributing to the growth and development of their immediate communities as well as the state IGR through the taxes they pay.
CHALLENGES
Getting the people of like minds to work with me. My reasons are that setting good aspirations and visions without the input of people to support the vision would amount to failure. Getting the right people to support and help you grow to an enviable height is mostly the challenge . The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic added to the slow pace of business too.
MENTOR
I have two mentors, my sister who taught me discipline in business, and Tara Fela-Durotoye, who is also into beauty business. I learnt a lot from her. She’s my major inspiration. Although my sister and my parents have been strong pillars of support in my walk to self actualisation, on my part, I attended quite a numbers of trainings. I did training on Astra and I here in Astra and in Jos as well to acquire the techniques that stands me out today.
INSPIRATION
My background drives me to strive to engender peace, wealth , and progress in the society and humanity.
I am the fourth child in a family of 10 children borne by very poor parents. We were so poor that we couldn’t even afford clean water for drinking. It was so bad that we had to source for unclean and unsafe water which we used to boil before we could drink. So I just wanted to change the narrative. To achieve my dream of changing my family’s identity, and bettering the lives of other poor families remains my inspiration
FEAR
I have three major fears. One has to do with failure. Then I also struggle with the fear of losing my parents before making it in life, hence, motivation to being financially independent. I also fear for those girls out there doing nothing except prostitution.
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOU FROM OTHER WOMEN
I am always on top of my job. I always upgrade myself and make sure to apply current technique and global best practices to help me stay afloat in the competitive market. My clients’ satisfaction is my utmost priority.
I am continuously to work better in my field. I want to have branches and organise frequent trainings for girls who are willing to impact on the society . I have full faith in God and anything I become is because he is with me. However, we all have our goals in life and we pray to God to make life easy for us and around us.
REGRETS
I really don’t have any regret because I grew up in a Loving family, surrounded by loved ones. I am grateful to God and them. So, in a nutshell I have no regrets. My business has boosted standard of my living .
FUTURE PLAN
Like I said earlier, I strive to grow and expand to the nooks and crannies of this country to motivate young ladies to be completely financially independent.
Yes, I want to open branches in Abuja and other States because my business is open to all category of people. So we don’t look at how influential you are. We are always available to serve everyone in the society.
ADVISE FOR WOMEN
My advice to the girl child is for them to get something doing so that they can be self sufficient and be independent. Marriage will come at the right time. They should not just be idle and be hoping that a man will come and solve their financial troubles and whatever.
Prostitution isn’t the way out but hardwork. They should stand up for themselves . Women should be able to pursue their careers with regards to education and business .
Anyone discouraging women from being independent , does not want their progress because when when you empower one woman , you have empowered a nation which is a popular saying. While it’s important for a woman to be broad minded and be well educated, in the absence of support , as goal getters , we should build ourselves, grow and be financially independent to avoid disrespect, harassment and all of that.
WHAT IS YOUR CALL TO BOTH STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
I don’t want any loan but if I can get grant fine. Or if the government can sponsor young girls to be trained and then support them with grants, that will be a good development. I have over 50 girls that I have trained that are doing very well now. I monitor what they are doing on social media. So people came all the way from Adamawa, Kaduna to be trained here in Jos on monthly basis. In the make up session alone, we have large trainees.
