Ibukun Martins Benedict spends his mid-term break on supermarket internship

Can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Ibukun Martins Benedict. I’m 10 years old and currently in J.S.S. 1. I like reading and solving mathematics.

Why did you decide to use your mid-term holiday for your internship?
First off, I’ve always wanted a time off to do some training in a supermarket because I have the dream of establishing a pharmacy/supermarket store someday; second off, my school gave us a volunteer paper to go do training in any establishment.

What’s the duration of your internship here?
1 week

What has your experience been so far?
(sighs). It’s been fine generally. I came in all shy at first, I had to welcome new faces into the supermarket. Sincerely, it wasn’t so easy at first because I came alone into a new environment without seeing my mum and siblings for hours (laughs). But above all, it has been fine.

Do you feel it is the best decision?
Yes it is.

Has it been a convenient for you, like resuming and closing at a specified a time, sometimes working under pressure, taking orders from staffs and all that?
Well, so far, it has been convenient because even in our schools, we resume and close at a specified time (smiles); and here, I resume at 10am and close 2:30pm, so it has been convenient. Speaking of working under pressure, they don’t put me under pressure; I’m 10, so I don’t work under pressure. They tell me what to do and I do it. When it seems as if we have so much to do per time, we divide ourselves into sections and we get the work done easily.

How do you feel when you remember your friends/siblings may be playing while you are here?
Hmmm, like yesterday, my mum took my younger ones out to go have fun but I was left out because I had to resume here; so I wasn’t really happy. But I feel I made a choice and I must respect my choice. So, I feel okay obeying my duty call.

What are your roles/duties as an intern here?
I have just two main roles as decided by the manager. First is to welcome the customers politely and help them get to the section they would like to get what they want to buy; second is to help other workers if they need help. There are other minor things I do, but those are the major ones given to me by my boss.

Do you have the mind of setting up in the future?
Yes!

What will that be?
A pharmacy combined with supermarket stores is what has been on my mind even though I will have an office job.

What skills have you acquired that you didn’t know before coming here?
I can now operate system and compute on it easily; I have been taught how to scan barcode and get prices of each product instantly; I have learnt about customer care services, nice/warm welcome and so on.

Do you sometimes feel over-worked?
No, but probably because I would have to sit and stand for a while without watching kid channels, I get bored sometimes.

How has been your relationship with other staffs?
They’ve all been so nice to me. They always take their time to teach me things. The manager also likes me so much.

What could have been other option if not internship, during this midterm?
Probably, my daddy’s office.

What are you skilled at?
Doing house works (laughs). I’m so skilled in it that it has become my office at home. I do them perfectly and professionally in fact.

Any final words for other children like you?
I believe other children like me should use any available time outside school time for something creative, because it really pays. You’ll always have something to gain.