During the lockdown, Edgar Ntamvutsa had no job because his carpentry workshop was among businesses suspended from operating to prevent the spread of coronavirus. His wife, Christa Bella Kageruka, was working from home in Nyamirambo and spent hours using her computer but would feel pain on her back and shoulders due to sitting on a laptop in the couple’s living room for a long time. Ntamvutsa, 30, tried to massage her back and advised her to rest and do some exercises but it couldn’t ease her pain. He thought a laptop stand might ease the wife’s pain and, as a full-time carpenter who does wood furniture and interior design, he realized he could make one for her. “Because I couldn’t get one on the market since we were on lockdown, I said; ‘why should I buy something that I can make myself?” he said. On Wednesday morning last week, Ntamvutsa took a shoe rack in the house which wasn’t in use and made a laptop stand for his wife. Surprisingly, at night, her shoulder was doing fine and she has since got used to working on her computer on the stand. “I felt completely relieved after two hours since I started using the laptop stand. I really felt comfortable and better doing my job with my laptop on the stand. Of course, I am very proud of my husband,” Kageruka told The New Times. The husband excitedly shared the pictures of her wife using the laptop stand on his WhatsApp status and many people started to text him in admiration of the ‘amazing’ initiative he did. He then agreed with his wife to share the post on Twitter to see how people would react. The post went viral and has so far gathered over 6,000 retweets 47,000 likes and many people commented on it, mostly in support of his initiative because he found a solution that could ease the shoulder pain for not just his wife but many people working from home during the lockdown. “People really loved it and I was so surprised. I never imagined it would go this far when I posted it on twitter. I just thought only a few people would like and retweet it. But, to be honest, I didn’t expect it would become such big thing like it is today,” he said. “During the lockdown, many people lost their jobs. So my intention of sharing a tweet was just to inspire them to try something new while at home and show them that one’s talent can be a source of a decent living even if you lose your job. For me, if I could inspire at least one person, that would be enough for me,” he added. The more people reacted to the tweet the more they requested him to make some stands for them. Ntamvutsa has so far got over 50 orders and he is making a laptop stand at between Rwf 16,000 and 20,000 depending on the type. Because the demand is getting high day after day, he hired a person to help him produce more from his workshop at Agakiriro Workshop of Gisozi in Gasabo District, to ensure the orders are delivered on time. If the demand keeps growing, Ntamvutsa revealed he would make more laptop stands so he can make it a profitable business that can satisfy the market. The power of the internet Since the day he tweeted the post, Ntamvutsa learned that social media can have a powerful influence on business given that people from different parts of the world reacted to his post. “I posted a small thing on Twitter but the response was way bigger than I anticipated. I learned that internet has the power that can help us sell our products worldwide and I am going to keep doing business online because it is the easiest way to reach out so many people in a small space of time,” he said. He is also convinced, if used properly, social media can give one a platform to shine and he encourages people to use their social media to share inspirations with the digital community.
