A street vendor’s struggle to survive
Three street vendors in Isipingo shared in an exclusive interview with the Rising Sun, how they ended up on the streets, their current life and future plans.
Life’s hardships and distasteful circumstances have forced many South Africans to employ themselves on the streets of our country.
These individuals are parents, caregivers, husbands, wives and most of all breadwinners. Three street vendors in Isipingo shared in an exclusive interview with the Rising Sun, how they ended up on the streets, their current life and future plans.
Since 1999, Gugu Mthombeni has been putting food on the table for herself and one child through this form of employment. The 50-year-old who hails from Empangeni came to Durban to finish her high school education. When she matriculated, she lost her mother in 1998 and was then forced to seek employment.
After no luck in finding a job, she resorted to self-employment and became a street vendor. After years of selling various wares, she decided it was time to work on her lifelong dream of being a teacher.
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In 2015, she enrolled for a diploma in Early Childhood Development at SANTS and she is currently in her final year. Mthombeni hopes to graduate and fulfill her dream of being a teacher and to send her only child to university.
Life had hit 60-year-old widower, Zeph Mbatha, quite hard after a year of being retrenched. His wife also passed away leaving him to take care of their four children.
Out of a job and having mouths to feed, Mbatha saw it necessary to make means of putting food on the table. Zeph has managed to send his eldest daughter to university through being a street vendor. Zeph’s only wish is for his motherless children to prosper.
Another street vendor who had to start fending for himself at the tender age of 14 is Thamsanqa Ngubane who started selling goods in 1999 after he impregnated his girlfriend.
The 32-year-old was pushed to quit school at the time because his grandparents who raised him would not have been able to feed another mouth. Ngubane has hopes of running more businesses of his own in the near future.
Article: Khanyisile Mgangana
