Benito’s Story

I was born in December in 1984 on the ‘paradise’ island of Mauritius. I was raised in a single-parent family with my sister who is 10 years older than me. My parents got separated when I was 3 years old only since my dad became very dependent on alcohol.

Life was not really easy for my family and me. My mother was the only person earning an income as a machinist in a textile factory. With a salary of Rs 5000 per month, my mum had to pay for the rental of a small house made of wood and iron sheets, buy foods and keep some money to be able to pay for our monthly bus fares and wait for the next salary to come. That’s what it is called being trapped into a vicious circle of poverty!

I remember one day where there was no food at home, and my mother had no money at all left in her purse. She opened the small fridge we had at that time, and there was only one egg available. What she did after that, will always remain in my memory till the last day of my life. She boiled the egg and asked me to eat it. I asked my mum ‘why not sharing it among our three?’ She replied to me ‘’ don’t worry, eat it, we will be ok’’ and on that particular day, my mom and sister had some water only and went to bed. It is a somber story to tell, but it is my life, and it is the truth.

My sister had to stop her schooling at 16 years old as my mother was not being able to cater for her education expenses. So, that’s how my sister started working in some factories at an early age to earn a salary to help me out with my schooling and ultimately, relieving my mother with all her financial commitments.

Through perseverance, determination, and faith in God, we managed to get out of this difficult situation and had been able to buy a house in 2001. Thanks to my grandmother who helped us a lot.

I attended the Pere Laval RCA School in Sainte-Croix, a suburb in the capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, and was admitted to the Eden College of Port-Louis in 1996. I then completed my secondary level education at the St. Andrews College in the central region of Mauritius and have done some tertiary studies.

My main motivation for getting all my studies right was basically to get out of this difficult situation and to make life better for my mum and sister. I am happy to have gone through all these difficult times as these has made me a stronger person now and things will definitely not be the same for my wife to be and my future children.

I have not been talking about what happened to my dad simply because I have not met with him for nearly 12 years. It is only in my teenage years that I started asking questions on my dad to my mum. This of course, was not a nice subject for her to talk about. But, my sister and I met with him on a few occasions and surprisingly noticed that my dad has become a homeless person. That’s really made me sad of course and angry at the same time. Why angry? My story even told you on how dependency on alcohol has dragged one man from his family’s responsibilities to become a homeless guy!

After my secondary education, I have been recruited as a Teller at the State bank of Mauritius and started savings so that I would be able to pursue my tertiary education. And at the same time, I have been able to buy a plot of land and construct a house through a loan from the Bank. The first thing I have done was to ask my dad to come and stay in my house. A few years later, he passed away due to health complications.

This is the first time in my life that I have been asked to tell my story and I am glad to share it with you, my followers. I would also advise you not to judge anyone by his ‘car’ or ‘work title’….take some times and get to know more about the person and learn about his/her story! We don’t know what this person has gone through and how much efforts have he/she put in to reach where he/she is actually! I have learned it the hard way and if today I am being ask to start my life from scratch again, I will do it.

Since an early age, I developed a passion for football and became a big fan of the Liverpool Football Club in the UK. But sadly, I have not yet witnessed my team winning the Premier League title! Hopefully this year!

As for my personality, I am humble and polite.

I am also a big fan of the musical group, Post Modern Jukebox (PMJ), from the US.

Last but not least, I am getting married soon!…..

Everyone has a story to tell, so feel free to connect with me and let’s have a chat soon.

More to come in my next blog!