Women Street Vendors Providing For Families

Ike Vavi
Correspondent | Monday August 9, 2010 00:00

Enduring the varying weather patterns as they try to fend for their families, they have long dispelled the myth that a woman's place should be confined to the kitchen.

There are those who sit on street corners with small tables and stands before them decorated by a few sweets or bananas, then there are some who confine themselves behind the wheels of some imported small trucks and vans and can be seen beside the road and in parking lots of big shopping complexes.

Others have found open spaces on various streets for their business operations.  A few have found hunting grounds for customers in passages that go through some shopping complex. Their products include vegetables, airtime, cleaning chemicals, soap, perfumes and lotions.

Monicah Kelebogile of Nshakashogwe has been doing this business since 1994. 'Gone are the days when a woman was just a mere recipient of what the man can offer or provide.

The role of providing for the family is now the responsibility of both parties and parents. Both parties should fully participate in the maintenance of the family. The economic outlook or position of the family therefore is a reflection of the contributions of both the wife and the husband,' she says.

Nshakashogwe reveals that her small business contributes significantly to the wellbeing of her family. 'Small as these businesses might be for some of us, they have indeed enabled us to put a plate on the table for our children,' she says.

'Although most people take us for granted when we are seated in the open areas waiting for customers, these businesses are doing wonders for us.

They are rewarding us handsomely and we are able to help ourselves and our families.' She says with confidence.

Nshakashogwe continues to outline her successes: 'With the proceeds from this small business, I have managed to pay school fees and buy uniforms for my four children,' she says as she arranges small wares such as earrings, sunglasses, belts and earrings on a table.

She says that through her business she has managed to build a house in Chadibe village where she is staying with her family.

'This business has actually enabled me to build a house for myself. It might look like a small business but it has sustained our lives. We are able to survive because of this small business,' she says.

She maintains that this kind of business needs one to be patient. 'One has to be very patient because the competition for customers is very high as we are many. But one needs to be very patient as there are times when it gets so dry that one cannot make money at all,' she says.

Forty-four year old Julia Beniefield from Nswazwi village is another hard working street vendor. She started her business in 2004.

For this mother of four, she has no choice as her family is a female-headed household. 'I am the breadwinner in my family and have to make sure that my children have something to eat,' she says.

For Beniefield, her normal day begins with a walk every morning from Area W location to the city centre where she operates a mobile phone and sells airtime and sweets to customers.

'I have to come here every morning and walk back in the evening to provide for my family.  It is the quest to provide for my children that always acts as a motivational factor for me. I do not even feel tired from sitting in the open spaces around town as I sell my products,' she says.