JARVIS RECALLS HUNGER, FAMILY STRUGGLES, HOW TIKTOK CHANGED HER LIFE
Read Time:3 Minute, 35 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
Nigerian TikToker and content creator Elizabeth Amadou, popularly known as Jarvis, has opened up about her difficult childhood, revealing that she grew up without her father, experienced financial hardship and sometimes went hungry with her sister.
Jarvis shared the experience in a now-trending video on Sunday while speaking alongside her husband, Peller, with Spark Nation founder, Pastor Tobi, during a Sunday service in the United Kingdom.
Recalling her upbringing, the content creator said growing up with her mother was challenging, alleging that her mother’s bipolar disorder sometimes affected her behaviour towards the family.
“My grandpa was sick and I came into a family through a mother that has bipolar disorder. Growing up with her has been very stressful and depressing because sometimes the disorder is crazy. Today she is nice and good and next minute she is violent, insulting us, you this stupid child, your father is mad,” she said.
Jarvis said she also did not grow up with her biological father, explaining that her mother had travelled outside the country before returning pregnant with her.
“I didn’t grow up with my father because my mother travelled out of the country and came back pregnant and gave birth to me. Growing up without a dad has not been good because my mum is not mentally okay,” she said.
According to her, her grandparents played a significant role in raising her and providing the discipline and guidance she needed while growing up.
“I grew up with my grandma and grandpa. They did their best to raise me up and they are very learned and strict. The strictness made me who I am today,” she said.
Beyond her family circumstances, Jarvis recalled the financial difficulties she faced as a child, including periods when her family struggled to pay her school fees.
She said she was determined to remain in school and avoid being influenced into taking what she described as the wrong path to make money.
“When everything was going down and there was no school fees, I don’t want to drop out from school or go through the wrong way to make money. You know peer group influence,” she said.
The financial hardship, she added, sometimes meant that she and her sister went without food.
Jarvis recalled watching cooking videos on TikTok with her sister despite being unable to afford the meals being prepared in the videos.
“I and my sister used to watch cooking food videos on TikTok just to salivate and at the end of the day we pray that God help us, cry and sleep because there is hunger,” she said.
She said their circumstances eventually led them to discover TikTok livestreaming as a potential source of income.
According to Jarvis, someone contacted her through TikTok and encouraged her to start livestreaming, telling her she could make money through the platform.
“Someone messaged me on TikTok app and told me if I start going live on the app I can make money. The first time I had 200 videos and I was like whoa,” she recalled.
Although she was initially shy about appearing on social media, Jarvis said she and her sister eventually began livestreaming together.
She said their first earnings were about $5, but the money meant a lot to them because of the difficult circumstances they were facing at the time.
“So I started with my sister and we made like $5 at first and we were very happy because it was crazy. I was so shy but with my sister I did it. My family must not see us on social media because there will be problem. Along the line we started content,” she said.
What began as an attempt to earn money gradually developed into content creation as the sisters built an audience on social media.
Jarvis said her motivation throughout the period was largely driven by her desire to support her sister and achieve financial independence.
“I wanted to take care of my sister. I want to be able to provide a living for ourselves,” she said.
Her account highlights how an attempt to earn a small income through TikTok livestreaming eventually evolved into a career in content creation, providing Jarvis with a platform and a means of pursuing financial independence.
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