Today we’d like to introduce you to Chinaecherem Eze.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Chinaecherem. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Life has always been a huge struggle since I lost my father at only six months old. My mother has been my support system, making sure I was well taken care of. For a long while I and my mother lived with a family member because we were not able to afford our own place. During that time life was very hard. The only thing we could afford was a domino $5 pizza. As much as we all love pizza, imagine the case of it being the only thing that you are able to afford.
My last year in high school was when my mom became very sick and with no income coming in from anywhere our life became very hard. I had to walk to school in the winter and rain. There were several times where we were kicked out of the house, we were starved —the person we stayed with, would cook food and take the pot to their rooms, knowing my mom and I were starving. We would have to beg our neighbors for food to eat.
Everyday, I would cry to God for help to give us a way out. Then all this stress caused my mom’s condition to intensify and eventually resulted to chronic kidney disease. She was hospitalized for seven weeks, not able to remember who I was when I came to visit her.
The doctors said she was not going to survive it. Her kidneys damaged her eyes and her brain. It caused her to develop glaucoma, which blinded her right eye and caused her left eye to be partially blind.
During this time, I was writing my SAT exam. One thing I did was to never lose hope in Jesus. He was my comforter and protector. I was sad but never depressed because I trusted in the lord with all my strength.
The hardest part was when my mom could not recognize me in the hospital. I was talking to her but she was not responding all. I saw were her eyes extremely red and her hands tied to the bed because she was very violent and aggressive. The doctors said she will die in a few days and I told God no, I could not be an orphan. I prayed and trusted in God for a miracle.
My mom got out of hospitalization but was still in and out of the hospital because she did not have insurance for regular dialysis. I remember sleeping on the hospital chairs and using my sweater as a pillow next to my mom’s bed.
It became a routine almost every night around 2 am-3 am, my mom would start to have the shortest of breath because the fluids in her lungs built up and her phosphate level was very high.
Sometimes we would get to the emergency room. No doctor would attend to her because she didn’t have insurance and the only way she would receive treatment is if her phosphate and fluids levels were to the point of almost killing her.
I got into college and God blessed me with a full-ride scholarship. I am currently in my last year of college. Whatever refund I get from my scholarship is what saved up to finally get an apartment for my mom and I.
It is still a struggle; however, I know God will always give me the strength to overcome. This was the reason I started Access to Originality. I know what I experienced and I don’t want any more to experience the same thing.
Access to originality (A.2.O) builds confidence, self-esteem and eliminates depression. A.2.O was formed to help people who are experiencing stress, anxiety and need direction.
AskCece is the business side of A.2.O. The mission is to help individuals find work from home jobs starting from $14–93/per hour flexible hours, get benefits. AskCece is here to transform individuals financially—finding jobs and careers that fit their needs, academically—teaching students how to get resources such as scholarships and grants. Physically with our clothing and appraisals. We custom t-shirts and merchandise. Thus, the business is to help bring a change to individuals.
My mom is on dialysis now and is stable. However, she is still blind and cannot work but I am doing everything in my power to make sure my mom doesn’t lack anything and I want to use the revenue from my business to properly take care of my mother.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was not a smooth road at all. I thank God for the grace to be able to go through challenges that make me stronger. I had a lot of financial crisis, not having enough money to start up my business and just fear of the unknown. Running a business and going to school. That is one of the biggest challenges. Trying to manage taking care of my mom, going to school and running my business is not always easy. It is a big struggle. It’s a very big challenge because my mom is partially blind and using something as simple as her cell phone is a big problem for her.
There’s a point where I had to give my mom showers and dress her up and even right now, the whole responsibility of taking care of her it’s still on me. But every day, I have a positive outlook and know that Jesus is on my side and he supplies me strength beyond human understanding.
We’d love to hear more about the organization.
My business came out of my nonprofit called Access to Originality. This nonprofit focuses on helping people relieve stress, anxiety and every form of depression. We focus on building confidence. Ask Cece is the business part that is here to reform people academically, financially and physically. We help students and professionals find work from home jobs, contract jobs, and full-time jobs. Our mission is to eliminate unemployment and help people be a better version of themselves. We also have a College edition to the business, which helps with interview and internship prep, scholarships and grants, career choice and just navigating through college. My favorite part of the business is the clothing line we design appraisals, we sell customized T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and so much more. I like to call Ask Cece a one-stop-shop for success. I’m very proud of the organization in general because we’ve been able to impact people all across the world our most recent project was behind closed doors which we dealt with issues that people do not speak about, relating to mental health like depression and we were able to send 200 families backpacks and school supplies to families all the way in Nigeria. Just being able to help people in and see somebody’s life reformed is one of the blessings that I love when it comes to my business. Definitely, what sets us apart is our passion, the way we connect to our clients. They’re not just numbers. They’re actually people with stories behind each and every person.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Three words Faith in God and keep pushing. I grew up with a very strong Christian background. I have been taught to put my faith in God and to know that worshiping God is not just a routine but rather, it’s a lifestyle. People should draw close to you because they see the light of Christ in you. They see that you are different from everybody else. That mentality has really helped me get to where I am today. Coming to America was a very drastic change for me because I had to adapt to a totally different culture from what I was used to. When I started high school here in Houston Texas, it was just a whole life-changing experience because I encountered and learned very fast how to be independent. In Nigeria, I was used to a driver picking me up and maid cleaning my house, a gateman. Once I got here, I learned that I have to learn how to do things on my own and not just rely on people. So definitely, my childhood contributed to where I am right now in my thinking and mentality because I have learned to be an independent individual that works well with or without people. I love my culture so much. I love the food to dance to the music, the religion in the way of life, the community lifestyle.
Pricing:
- Cece golden kit —$200
- Cece essentials—$70
- Cece’s express way —$250
Contact Info:
- Phone: 2817590447
- Email: askcece101@outlook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzlzGOpTn2/?igshid=yf16cq4ea3ri
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ask.cece.35
Image Credit:
Oreo Studio Houston
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