Sabrina Martodigdo from Paramaribo is not just a mother of a five-year-old boy, but she is also a diligent taxi driver. Though there are only a handful of female taxi drivers in Suriname, she chose this job four years ago after getting divorced.

During one of our many conversations, Sabrina shares with me some of her past experiences as she remembers them “I couldn’t complete my high school level as I got pregnant in the meantime. My ex-husband encouraged me to leave school by assuring he would look after me and child.”

Sabrina then realized the importance of having higher education and being economically independent to raise her one-year-old baby on her own. “I just wanted to do some challenging job which was predominated by men and wanted to prove that women also equally can do it.”- She further adds, “somebody gave me an idea for this job. So, when I learned driving, I felt like I can do it and I began the job. I think that was the best decision I have ever made. Now I am loving my job”

Besides driving a taxi through a Taxi center, Sabrina also has a contract with a school where she also drives a bus to pick up and drop off the students daily. Moreover, she is an on-call

vehicle driver for a company as well. Sabrina, does not hesitate to drive out of Paramaribo city if it provides her with a good source of income and she is occasionally also available for night duty too. She says, “Every profession might possess a level of risk and challenge, my profession also has to some extent but I am prepared for it.”

Sabrina, a hard working taxi driver, and loving mother, prefers to not work on weekends and public holidays so she can spend more time with her son. She expresses "These are the only days when I spare quality time with my son. Other days, he would be in school or childcare and I would be busy in my own work.”