Dreams are finally coming true for Mary Daniel, the 27-year-old amputee water hawker, as she dedicated her new house in the Igando area of Lagos State on Saturday.
The single mum, who used to sell bottled water on highways in the Oshodi area of Lagos, said she bought the house, cash down, for N17.5m from the N25m donation she received after Saturday PUNCH published her story.
In the same compound of the newly acquired house, a sachet water ‘factory’ is being constructed and she intends to have the factory named after herself.
During an interview with PUNCH Online video team at the ceremony, Ms. Daniel revealed that she already has two tenants in the house.
For her factory, Daniel has purchased the engine and filters for sachet water production.
According to her, what is left for the completion of the sachet water factory are water tank, flooring, electrical work, and roofing.
Daniel’s status took a dramatic turnaround after her moving story was reported by Saturday PUNCH earlier in March.
Dropping out at Junior Secondary School 3, she took to the streets in Onitsha, Anambra State, selling sachet water to cater to herself and her aged grandmother.
She was impregnated in 2018 by her fiancé who she said denied responsibility for the pregnancy, forcing her to relocate to Delta State out of shame.
Daniel continued the taxing trade in the oil-rich state even after giving birth. She relocated to Lagos in March, hawking bottled water in chaotic traffic and passing the night on the balcony of a building on Suwebatu Street, Oshodi.
PUNCH’s report generated overwhelming emotions as she received donations to the tune of N25m.
Her story assumed a vicious twist after some people who claimed to know her faulted her claims.
She has since apologised for spinning a fantastic tale out of her life’s odyssey.
-The PUNCH
