Dimapur, November 1 : As a kid growing up at his village Nyasa in Mon district, a young Minphoa Konyak, like every other Naga boy, loved playing football. And just like every other Naga boy, he would also go to the cobbler each time his football boots needed repair.
The cobbler in his village was a local man named Boashe. One day, when a young Minphao took his boots for repair, the cobbler Boashe advised him to learn the trade for himself since he could not always be there when the boots needed repair.
Convinced of the local cobbler’s reasoning, Minphao agreed to apprentice and, gradually stared learning the trade. Soon, he started repairing his own boots and even his friends started coming to get their boots repaired.
When Minphao was in the sixth grade, his father passed away. As the family fell in hard times, especially with finance, he was prompted to discontinue his studies. As the eldest son, with four younger siblings, he was expected to shoulder the responsibilities of the house despite his young age.
So he began helping his mother in the (paddy) field, which was their only source of livelihood. Even as he was working in the field every day with his mother, Minphao would keep thinking about doing some other work through which he could earn more for the family.
He was aware that besides farming, the only work in which he had any kind of experience and skill was repairing football boots. If he was to earn more money for his family, the only option was to employ the skills learnt from his local cobbler.
It was then that he made up his mind – he was leaving his village for Mon town to try his luck in repairing shoes.
In April this year, he pitched his dream in a small corner by the roadside in Mon – setting up his own shoe repair venture. With a few empty cement bags (for floor coverings), a grocery sack and a faded rucksack in which he stores his tools, Minphao plies his humble dream today.
Soon after his venture, he was joined by his friend Khoalang, who hails from Sangnu village. Currently, they are running the business together. Both are in the early 20s, and are very enthusiastic about their trade and take it very seriously.
Minphao told Eastern Mirror that they earn around 350-400 rupees a day and they hope to become a cobbler for the police department.
Their message to the unemployed youths is to take up any kind of jobs they are capable of doing and not to feel shy or scared of being belittled.
