MELLISA MUNGONI
AGE: 22
ZIMBABWE;ALGERIA
Co-FOUNDER OF LA COUTURE_MM
I lost my dad when I was 2 years old. That left me to be raised by a single parent my mother, she did everything for me and my brother she was all we had when my father passed away my mother is the main reason I told myself I was going to harden myself with determination because she is the biggest inspiration in my life I would be nothing without her. I was born and raised in Budiriro a high density suburb in the southwest of Harare. Rusungunuko Primary School a local school in Mufakose was where I attended my primary education it was close to Budiriro so it was not really a challenge to go to school. I was always the best student in my grade in most of primary school years. I managed to equip some leadership roles from a very young age when I became a prefect in grade 5 which led to me being the head girl in grade 7. I managed to pass my Primary education with 4 Units. After obtaining such impressive results my mother then decided to take me to Sandringham High School just 65 km from Harare Sandringham a mission School, Being at a mission school gave me a chance to grow spiritually as a person I was now a teenager and I knew what I wanted to do in my life at this stage. When I was in form 3 I became a prefect this gave me an opportunity to uncover my interests in public speaking, writing, and music.
I passed my Odinary Level with 9As and 2Bs and I was awarded with a fully funded Scholarship from then until I was done with my tertiary education. This really was a miracle I was praying for and it came at a time I needed it the most because my mother had just stopped working due to her health conditions.
I then decided to go to Goromonzi to go further my Advanced Level I needed a change of scenery; this was actually a bad decision. The school was a very good school but having to fit in a new environment, making new friends was really hard for me because I was an introvert. Those 2 years were the most challenging of my whole academic career. I was in a class of 33 pupils 29 boys and 4 girls, doing Math, Physics and Chemistry as my combination it was not easy but i made sure i was focused and determined
I got an opportunity to work as a Town Planning Officer in the Junior Council of Ruwa. Being part of the Ruwa Town Junior Council had its own challenges but I learnt a lot from that experience even got a chance to work with the youth in the area. I was a part of the voice that stood for growth and change I really grasped a lot from this opportunity and will forever be grateful for it.
In 2016 October I left Zimbabwe to go further my tertiary education as a Medical Doctor in Algeria but things did not go as planned as they were some complications so I could not study Medicine anymore I was really shuttered because I have always wanted to be a Medical Doctor from a very young age.So I had to make some life changing decisions and real quick. So I decided to go into the Engineering field and I am currently doing my final year of a Degree in Electrical Engineering at Universite de Science et Technology Oran in Algeria. Being in a foreign land is not easy but I thank my family for being my pillar in every step of this journey. When I moved to Algeria I thought it was just going to be a walk in the park considering that I have been away from home most times being a boarding scholar. At first I used to miss home so much, lucky for me I had my cousin around so I really didn’t feel alone.
In February 2019 I decided to start my own clothing line called La Couture_ MM together with my cousin. We are a young ambitious and dynamic company that aspires to set, develop and maintain higher standards of fashion. We started this clothing brand to sustain ourselves because it is not easy financially as a student so we knew this would be very helpful to us and be financially independent as student. We specialize in making clothes for women and men. This has been the most challenging adventure of my life because I did not even do anything fashion related in school and I never dreamt of owning a fashion line one day. This whole fashion adventure started when I had nothing to wear on my birthday then I came up with a design I customized and made myself a birthday dress, this is when I actually realized I enjoyed making clothes. In Algeria they are lot of students like ourselves so we target them as our market
Starting a business was not easy at all. When we started LaCouture _MM we were sewing with our own hands. Because we are a company that offers our clients a chance to be self-made designers, we work with a client’s design, you show us your designs and we supply the fabric and everything else. This was really hard because sometimes we would lose or waste fabric trying to get the design right but with God’s grace in August 2019 we managed to buy our very first sewing machine and our workload has been better ever since. It makes our work fast and efficient. Dealing with critics did not make things easy for us. The Fashion industry is a very competitive industry only the best survive so we try to make sure that our clothing products are exceptional and has been an interesting journey but challenging at the same time because getting the product right is tricky and challenging but from the support we get from a lot of people including some local residents. La Couture _MM is coming everywhere watch out for it we are going to be the choice of brand when you think of fashion. We already have clients outside Algeria.
When I left Zimbabwe I never thought this is what God had prepared for me but here I am hardworking and fully committed young woman. In everything do I try to achieve, every ounce of potential that has been deposited in me has to be used up for it is an investment”.
From my background and my past experience of life over the years I have learnt that anything is possible once you put your mind to it, it is all about identifying a need of service and showing up to provide that need, commitment and risk taking discipline, a whole lot of patience and then you will figure everything out.
