PERHAPS it is because Donna Fraser’s so full of life personality or its’ just because she is a God-fearing person who doesn’t give up easily. Whichever it is, this elder is still working and enjoying every bit of it.

She is 71 years old and she doesn’t look like it at all, but even with a slight limp due to arthritis, Fraser is very much young at heart and is residing in Wisroc Housing Scheme, Wismar, Linden.

Fraser has been keeping herself occupied via a stall in the Wismar Municipal Market where she has a stall selling clothing and other items and she has been vending for the past 13 years.

The mother of five told the Pepperpot Magazine that she did all kinds of work as a single mother, but she is glad she did because all her children turned out well, having good jobs and educated.

Fraser explained that she was married but walked out of the home due to domestic abuse and left everything, and had to start anew with her five children.

She added that her husband passed away about 15 years ago, but while they had resolved their differences, she never went back to the home.

Fraser reported that things got really bad before she left their matrimonial home and the neighbours helped her many days because of the children.

Today, she is the grandmother of 11 and seems quite happy with how things turned out and she has a healthy relationship with God and frequents Sunday service at her local church.

Recalling how she got married, Fraser told the Pepperpot Magazine that her mother, a disciplinarian, never had the chance to get married, so she was born out of a common law relationship.

“She told me that I must get married and arranged the groom for me and that’s how I was married back in those days. You dare not defy your parents,” she said.
Fraser disclosed that she even cleaned houses for people and also worked at Blair’s Delight where she was a cook for many years until she met a friend, a woman, who changed her life for the better.

She was encouraged to secure a plot at Amelia’s Ward and she and her children began fetching two zinc sheets every week to build their house.
“Every Friday when I got paid, I went and bought two zinc sheets and me and the kids would fetch it, and we started to build a small house until we did better,” she said.
Fraser explained that they had a makeshift shack made out of plastic and zinc, but today they have a concrete house and she is comfortable.
“As I began to age, my friend advised me to get a stall in the market to sell and after securing a loan from IPED I got started and I never regretted it,” she said.
Fraser attested that even though she wasn’t rich, she did her best to bring up her children the right way, which paid off because they have grown into well-rounded adults.
The elder stated that times were hard, but she struggled and made it despite the challenges. She played a vital role in ensuring her children never went hungry.
Fraser told the Pepperpot Magazine that her friend would even send clothes for her to sell at her stall and she is quite pleased about being self-employed. It keeps her occupied with lots to do.
“Life was difficult, I endured a lot, but you cannot give up because you will meet people who will help you along the way and that’s what we need to do to assist each other, build people instead of breaking them,” she said.
Fraser noted that she has friends in the market and would engage in light banter when she is there; it is something to look forward to.
She is at her stall Mondays to Fridays from 07:00 hours to 16:00 hours and has a daily routine where she would pick up her grandson from school then go home.