BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Sarian BOUMA
Biography :
Sarian Bouma born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sarian came to America in search of a better life. Employed at a radio station in her country, she came to America to go to college. Shortly after moving to Washington, D.C., she met the love of her life, married him, got pregnant and put off her education. A year later, when he left her, she had no savings and no job; she and her son ended up in a homeless shelter.
Sarian’s life-defining moment came to her one day when she went to the store to buy milk and was turned away at the counter because she didn't have enough food stamps. That night, she had to fill her son's bottle with water, and it was the electric shock she needed to realize that this was not the life she had come to America to pursue. It was time to take responsibility and let go of the past.
She heard about a training course that would help her get a job upon completion. She signed up and landed a position as a bank teller. A few years later, she knew this was not to be her ultimate destiny. She wanted something more. And that's when the idea of starting her own business came to fruition. There she met her true love, Jon Bouma, her lover and mentor.
"I've always been a big dreamer," Sarian said. "It's what brought me to this country."
She once dreamed of cleaning the office of the President of the United States. Four years later she was awarded the contract for the New Executive Office Building where the President's staff works. Sarian teaches people to dream big and follow their dreams. When it seems you are at the end of your rope, that's when you stand up and pull harder.
Today, Sarian is the founder of Capitol Hill Building Maintenance, Inc.; author of Welfare to Millionaire: Heart of a Winner; a recipient of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc., award; a recipient of the national "Women of Enterprise" award by the Avon Corporation, in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration and Maryland's "Top 100 Women."
married: with six children
Biography :
Sarian Bouma born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sarian came to America in search of a better life. Employed at a radio station in her country, she came to America to go to college. Shortly after moving to Washington, D.C., she met the love of her life, married him, got pregnant and put off her education. A year later, when he left her, she had no savings and no job; she and her son ended up in a homeless shelter.
Sarian’s life-defining moment came to her one day when she went to the store to buy milk and was turned away at the counter because she didn't have enough food stamps. That night, she had to fill her son's bottle with water, and it was the electric shock she needed to realize that this was not the life she had come to America to pursue. It was time to take responsibility and let go of the past.
She heard about a training course that would help her get a job upon completion. She signed up and landed a position as a bank teller. A few years later, she knew this was not to be her ultimate destiny. She wanted something more. And that's when the idea of starting her own business came to fruition. There she met her true love, Jon Bouma, her lover and mentor.
"I've always been a big dreamer," Sarian said. "It's what brought me to this country."
She once dreamed of cleaning the office of the President of the United States. Four years later she was awarded the contract for the New Executive Office Building where the President's staff works. Sarian teaches people to dream big and follow their dreams. When it seems you are at the end of your rope, that's when you stand up and pull harder.
Today, Sarian is the founder of Capitol Hill Building Maintenance, Inc.; author of Welfare to Millionaire: Heart of a Winner; a recipient of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc., award; a recipient of the national "Women of Enterprise" award by the Avon Corporation, in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration and Maryland's "Top 100 Women."
married: with six children
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