Virtual assistant job gave mom freedom to care for child with cancer

Celia McLaren Reid faced what she described as the toughest challenge of her life when her two-year-old son was diagnosed with renal cancer in 2020.

The level of care that he would require meant that a regular 9-5 would be near impossible, so the mother of two decided to create an earning path that would give her the flexibility to care for her child full-time.

With the help of the NCB Foundation, through its Level Up Grant facility, Reid enrolled in short-term digital courses which enabled her to operate as a virtual assistant. After graduating, she wasted no time building her online virtual assistant platform, and quickly became one of the top earners from her cohort.

A virtual assistant provides administrative services to clients while operating outside of the client's office.

"I am so grateful for the Level Up Grant programme and the opportunity it provided me to build my own virtual assistant business," said Reid. "Without it, I wouldn't have been able to create a flexible work schedule that allowed me to care for my son while also providing for my family."

With long-term clients from all over the world, Reid is now able to earn a living for her family from the comfort of her home. Even better is the fact that her now five-year-old son was declared cancer-free last November.

Nadeen Matthews Blair, CEO of NCB Foundation, described Reid's experience with the programme as "truly inspiring".

"She is proof that acquiring digital skills and becoming a digital producer is not only a viable avenue for earning a living, but also one that can give persons the freedom and flexibility to earn in a way that fits their life and needs," Matthews Blair said.

Through the programme, grant recipients can complete short online courses in specialised digital areas such as social media management, transcription, virtual assistant and remote call centre support, digital marketing, graphic design, grant writing, business communications, crisis/trauma/grief counselling, and small business management.

More than 9,000 participants have since graduated from the Level Up Grant programme, with the next cohort set to enrol in July.