In today's "It's Not All About Coffee" blog, we want to introduce you to Promise Placide Dibwe Kuminga, otherwise known as Promise PDK — father, husband, sports enthusiast and, well, barista!
Through Promise, we see how full and fulfilling life can be and read about his pursuit of both excellence and the ever-illusive balance.
ROSETTA: Introduce yourself to us and tell us what you do at Rosetta / how long have you been working there?
PROMISE: Hello, my name is Promise Placide Dibwe Kuminga otherwise known as Promise PDK. I've been working for Rosetta as a barista since November last year.
ROSETTA: What are some of the best things about being a part of the Rosetta team?
PROMISE: Being a part of Rosetta's team is challenging, but I love challenges and love growing — I can see that I am growing in everything I do. I love coffee knowledge, and there is already a massive difference in what I knew in November versus now. With Rosetta, there's always new knowledge and information to challenges one's intellect, one's way of approaching people, what you know about the industry, how to expose the brand to customers as a barista, how to speak about the product.
It's all been challenging, but with the team's help, it's been good! This team is vibrant, and things happen differently here — I'm learning the art of coffee, being exposed to more and growing as a person — definitely moving towards maturity in my career.
Imagine, this isn't even near the end? I'm going to be growing more!
ROSETTA: Do you have any other passions, hobbies, special skills? Are you a parent? We want to know about your life outside your current job!
PROMISE: I am a parent of three (13, 7 and 2) and married, so also a husband, of course. Regarding hobbies, I have always loved medicine, so I studied medicine for 2-years and then things didn't work out for me financially, so I had to drop out and try and look at life through a different lens. I found myself in the hospitality industry and studied catering — got a certificate in that and coffee (with TRUTH Coffee). While I've learnt a lot in the hospitality industry, there is always room to grow. By God's grace, I hope that I can go back and study medicine when I'm financially stable once again. In the meantime, I'm trying my hand at Computer Sciences and a few other things online.
Other than that, karate, football, kickboxing, MMA and sport, in general, are a passion of mine!
Oh, and one other thing, my life is all about God — it is what it is, I am a Christian.
ROSETTA: Has the pursuit of excellence in one passion helped you to pursue excellence in another? And if so, how so? For example, "the pursuit of excellence in coffee has taught me how to be excellent in my other work because…"
PROMISE: You know, I think one should constantly assess themselves after 6-months in a company. After 6-months, you should be able to handle both your job and a few other projects. The first 6-months here, however, were challenging. There was no way I was able to push anything else. It's only now that I've been able to integrate my MMA practice with my 'career.' Let's see, as time goes by, how I go. I'm pursuing balance; that's what I've learnt through coffee, balance.