He fulfilled his dream of opening and managing a tailor shop. After four years of apprenticeship at a workshop in Terni where she learned to sew wedding dresses, Sahiful Islam, 35, originally from Bangladesh, moved to Romein the neighborhood test, where he started his business in Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice in 2019: «A job but above all a dream that I risked suddenly losing. I didn’t expect such a warm reaction and so much participation from my customers”, says the tailor, proud to have saved the small trade today. Indeed, the stormy winds seem to be behind us. But, even in this case, it took a lot of effort and a lot of willpower not to lose the store. With a handover between the old and new owner of the walls, he received a request for payment three months in advance.
THE DEBT
“Until last month I had no financial problems – says Sahiful – like all traders and businessmen, small business suffered during the Covid months but then I recovered. After the difficult times of the pandemic, I resumed at a regular pace. Then, in February, the world fell on me.” Recorded under a customary lease, the tailor was unaware that the owners of the walls had sold the shop. Thus inheriting the contract: “The new owners came forward asking for three months’ salary and an adjusted deadline. In a few moments – he says – I went from having a decent business to a debt of more than 2 thousand euros. I immediately went to the lawyer and the accountant, but the urgency was still to find the money as soon as possible.”
And it was at this moment that the neighborhood mobilized. The young tailor trusted one of the most loyal customers who. Then word of mouth did the rest and the solidarity network in the neighborhood began. Rumors of the store’s imminent closing spread through the neighborhood. From house to house, residents organized themselves, bringing jackets, pants, tents and shirts to repair. A back and forth that avoided the worst: “In a few days – Sahiful recounted – I collected a thousand euros which I was able to give as an initial balance. Then I got to the quota they were asking me for. All this thanks not only to the most loyal customers who have given me so much work, but also to the new ones who have come to repair me. Some residents have also brought the clothes of friends and relatives here. An attention that I really would never have imagined and for which I am truly grateful and grateful.’ A chain of solidarity that saved Sahiful’s dream and workshop.
Source : IL Messaggero
