A 1st Class Human Resource Management degree holder, who resorted to driving Uber after losing her job during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, has recounted how a car gift from her dad boosted her newly found job.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show, Friday, July 18, Eunice Teiko Godzi said her dad, whom she thought would be upset with her for taking up such a job, bought her a Toyota Yaris to continue being an Uber driver.

Eunice stopped driving temporarily becuase the owner of the Kia Morning she started the job with, decided to increase the weekly sales from GHC400.00 to GHC500.00.

Until Covid-19 struck, she was an Operations Manager at a clinic and a school in Accra. Eunice Teiko Godzi was in charge of all operations. But Covid-19 denied her a means of livelihood. Both firms shut down.

She was among thousands of workers who were laid off by their employers due to financial constraints resulting from the pandemic. Consequently, Eunice had to find another means of survival. She said staying at home was not an option since she had already enrolled in a second-degree programme. The fees must be paid.

Left with no option, Eunice resorted to online driving (Uber precisely). The decision was informed by her role in the previous job.

"I was working in a clinic and I had a partial responsibility in a school. My original job description was to be in charge of operations within the clinic but over the period other tasks were added to my duties.

"So I found myself to be always on the road. I was always on the move, running even domestic errands. While I was thinking about what to do, I just felt that I'm always on the road driving so I can give the online driving job a try."

In the attempt to pursue this dream, she encountered various challenges. She was discouraged by some friends who said she couldn't survive in the business since its a man's world after she disclosed her intentions to them.

Also, her dad was not going to accept such a decision. He was so proud of her and had been bragging about the fact that his daughter is a 1st Class degree holder, BSC in Human Resource Management, from Central University College, with a second degree in the works, transitioning into an Uber driver was not news her father would welcome. At all. Mr Godzi will not allow that to happen. He wanted her to work in the formal sector.

But she had to defy the odds and take up her new job.

"I spoke with a few drivers and they told me I can't because they said it was tasking and it wasn't a lady's job. So I left them and chanced on another driver who listened to me. He opened an account for me and posted me on some of their platforms to help me get a car. Thanks to God, I got a KIA Morning then I started with it."

About six months into her job, she got a call from her father: he had visited her former workplace and she was nowhere to be found. So, he decided to call and find out what had happened. That was when she broke the news to him.

Things were moving on well and she was enjoying her new job (though it was quite tedious) until the owner of the vehicle she was using decided to increase her daily sales. Previously she was making daily sales of Gh₵400.00 cedis but this had seen a 25% increase and she was expected to make daily sales of Gh₵500.00. That seemed quite challenging since it was still the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic when business was still slow.

Wondering about what step to take, she received a phone call from her dad, "He asked after realising I wasn't driving anymore, 'UBer driver, why are you home?'. Then I replied, my car owner, has increased the sales." "So how are you going to make it?," her dad further queried.

"Return his car, I'll buy you a car in two weeks and he did," she added. This came to Eunice as a big surprise because she least expected it.

"At a point, I wondered if he was going to get me the vehicle because I knew he had been using his car for years and was planning to buy a new one for himself but he asked me to be searching for a KIA Morning.

"A day before the two-week time frame was due, he called me to inform me that he had found a Toyota Yaris and it's a good one so I should come over for it. What makes it touching was that the amount of money he had on him wasn't enough so he went for a loan to top up. I didn't have to pay from my coffers," she said.

This comment received a resounding round of applause from the audience in the radio studio who were amazed at her father's efforts.

Eunice, seized the opportunity to wish her dad, Mr Godzi, a Happy Father's day and also thanked him for all his support.