Rahela Pecican, M&S, Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff

Image: Exposure Photo Agency

I can’t go to my pitch every single day like I used to because I have moved to Newport and it’s a long way from there. I have to take the train and the bus so it takes time and sometimes I can’t afford it because it is very expensive.

I moved to Newport in March because my landlord wanted to get me out of his house as he wanted to sell his property. The house also had mould and damp, it was raining into the house and we had rats in there too. So it was difficult to live there with my children.

The big thing too was that it was very expensive. I had to pay £1,300 a month in rent so it was expensive for that condition. When we moved out, we couldn’t find anywhere else in Cardiff because all the houses were very expensive and I couldn’t afford them.

Your support changes lives. Find out how you can help us help more people by signing up for a subscription

In Newport, it’s a good house for my kids. I have kids with asthma and in the old house I had to use an inhaler very often for them. In this house I don’t have to use it very often because the house does not have mould and is not damp.

The house is a little bit expensive for me but what I’m happy about is that my kids are happy in this house. I have the school nearby and they enjoy it in this house. Everything is about my kids. They are what matters. They have a garden in the back where they can play.

It’s been OK on my pitch recently. I couldn’t be there for a few months, so people are happy to see me back. Even the Big Issue staff missed me. My customers know my name and ask me about my family. I really missed my pitch and I really missed my customers.

Over Christmas they gave me sweets for my kids and sometimes they got me food like pizza, biscuits or fruits for them too. They are very kind people. I’m praying a lot for my customers, honestly. Sometimes they make me cry because it’s nice when people ask you how things are going in your life.

Big Issue helps me too. Sometimes they have helped me when I couldn’t afford to get the magazines by giving me copies and when I sell them, I will bring the money back to them. They also recently helped me with a phone because mine was broken so I couldn’t take cashless payments. People asked me a lot about that – it was hard when they wanted to buy the magazine with a card but couldn’t. I’ve just received a QR code for people to scan so hopefully I can use it.

I honestly don’t know what I want from 2026. I would like to look for any work that I can do where I have time for my kids and also work. My plans don’t depend on me, it depends on what God has ready for us. I would like to be a good person in 2026 and hopefully everything goes well for everyone. Things are very difficult these days. Everything has gone up.

I want my kids to be good people, to help everyone who needs help and I want them to be Christian and to love God. I want them to have a good career, to work hard for their life and to not be in a difficult situation. I can’t tell them that I want them to be a doctor or anything like that, this is their choice and they can do what they can do. But hopefully they do something better for them.

Interview: Liam Geraghty

Marks & Spencer, Station Road, Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff, UK