TikTok Soap Seller Makes Her Mother’s Hajj Dream A Reality
After Dr. Fatima Al-Zahra Ditti promised her mother that she would send the elder woman for Hajj in a year, she soon realized that the pilgrimage would require saving up tens of thousands of pesos every month — a feat she was not sure how to accomplish.
She took to TikTok to share her concerns, wondering how she would make her mother’s dreams come true.
“In one of my live sessions, I shared my story and ended up crying. I said, ‘I really want this for my mom, but it’s so expensive. Still, I’ll find a way,’” Ditti told Arab News.
Then a follower gave her an idea: She could start selling on TikTok’s popular livestreaming feature.
Months of dedicating hours and hours after her full-time job as a family medicine specialist, Ditti managed to sell more than 6,000 soaps and received 57 pesos ($0.93) in commission for each, enough to cover the 350,000-peso cost of the holy pilgrimage for her mother.
“TikTok live-selling requires you to stay online for about four hours. I would do it at night, usually from 8 p.m. until midnight, after coming home from work. I really dedicated myself to it because I saw its potential once people started showing up consistently,” she said.
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Much of the initial support came from her online community, a small but active following she has gained from TikTok under the username Doc Kulot since 2021. What began as a platform to share her residency training has since turned into a space to also share her life story.
“I also started sharing my journey as a first-generation doctor and breadwinner, and that’s how people started connecting with me,” Ditti said.
“People were inspired because we came from a very small town in Tawi-Tawi called Simunul. I was a scholar from elementary to high school to medical school … Many mothers were able to relate to me because they wanted the same kind of future for their children.”
As the eldest of five children, 33-year-old Ditti has been taking care of her family since her father passed away in 2017. She has helped send her siblings to school, driven by her desire to “give the best for everyone,” as she grew up witnessing her parents struggle just to provide for them.
“When my father passed away, the role of the provider was suddenly left empty and I had to step into that role,” she said.
“As a family, we really strived hard … we started from the bottom. I’m a person who openly shares my story. People assume that once you’re a doctor, you must already be rich. In our case, we really had nothing.”
Last year, Ditti said she was buried in loans, had only one income stream, and was constantly worrying how to get through each day.
After she started selling soaps at the end of last May, the online support was so swift that she gathered the amount she needed by November. Afterwards, she continued with TikTok Live to earn some pocket money for her mother’s trip.
“I promised myself I will take care of her, and that’s what I am doing,” Ditti said.
“Deep in my heart, all I wanted was to give my mother a comfortable life. That has always been my desire for her.”
Her 61-year-old mother, Mimbung, headed to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj on May 4, joining hundreds of thousands of Muslims for the pilgrimage that is one of the pillars of Islam.
“For every Muslim believer, it’s a dream to be able to perform it … She was so happy because she never imagined that selling soap would eventually bring her to Hajj … She was full of gratitude. I’m also deeply grateful … because the ‘Kulotism’ community truly reflects people who believe in your dreams,” Ditti said, referring to the nickname for her online community.
“I realized that when your intentions are sincere and good, people will genuinely support you throughout your journey.”
Source: Arab News
