Mere-Ridge flea market unites community
Community leaders, Sylvanus Naidoo and Pst Victor Kupsamy, put their heads together and launched the Mere-Ridge flea market in a bid to create an avenue for unemployed and disadvantaged residents to sell their goods and generate an income for themselves.
Inspired by their love and compassion for their community, the scourge of unemployment and poverty, is what drove two Merebank men to make a meaningful impact in their neighbourhood.
Community leaders, Sylvanus Naidoo and Pst Victor Kupsamy, put their heads together and launched the Mere-Ridge flea market in a bid to create an avenue for unemployed and disadvantaged residents to sell their goods and generate an income for themselves.
This is a non-profit initiative for the Merebank residents and vendors are not charged a fee for their stalls.
Despite the inclement weather, residents flocked to the vacant grounds, adjacent to Travancore Drive, in a show of support for their fellow community members.
“Due to COVID-19 and the recent unrest, many of our people are unemployed and companies have closed down. We decided to create a flea market so that people can make a living and create their own wealth. Our main focus is to alleviate poverty because we cannot keep on waiting for handouts and we are hoping people will grab this opportunity with both hands. We have almost 100 vendors, who have registered and we are hoping residents from surrounding areas such as Bluff, Isipingo and Chatsworth will come and support this initiative, which is for the benefit of the people,” said Pst Victor.
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Shantal Vahed is one of the many people, who has felt the sting of unemployment after losing her job at a call centre. The mother of two said that the last few months have been a rough ride and she had been struggling to make ends meet.
Not one to let a good opportunity pass her by, Vahed took advantage of the flea market and is hoping this initiative will help in her quest to eke out a living.
“Things have been very difficult but I have been keeping a positive mindset. I have to pay rent every month as well as the lights and water bills. When you have school-going children, you also have to pay school fees and buy uniforms which is another challenge on its own. Even taking care of your own basic well-being is hard. The community has been very helpful by distributing food hampers and starting initiatives such as this one. I’m hoping that by selling these items I’ll be able to make a living so I can provide for my family,” she said.
A grateful Vahed thanked the event organisers for keeping in mind those, who were unemployed and struggling to make ends meet during this time. Councillor of ward 68, Aubrey Snyman, who also attended the flea market, shared that this was a wonderful initiative.
“The community is looking to empower themselves. With COVID-19 and unemployment being rife, residents decided to open up a flea market, which I believe is a good thing. Well done to the community,” said Snyman.
The flea market will be held at the Travancore Drive grounds every Saturday.
