By Buziwe Nocuze
- Nomvuyo Booi gets a grant for three of her four children but says the money is not enough to live on.
- She sells coffee for R15 and steamed bread from R5 each morning and amahewu from R10 from noon each day.
A Cape Town mother of four is making ends meet by selling food near a mall, after saving her R370 child grant to buy her first stock.
Nomvuyo Booi receives a grant for three of her four children, but says the money does not stretch far enough.
“The grant money is not enough with everything that is going up,” said Booi.
She starts her day at 5am selling coffee at R15 a cup and steamed bread, with a plain slice at R5 and a buttered slice at R7. At noon, she switches to selling amahewu priced from R10 to R15.
Booi mainly targets taxi drivers who start work early.
“The grocery, paraffin, and electricity prices go up all the time. One cannot depend on grant money. That’s why I chose to start this business, mainly targeting taxi drivers who wake up very early to go to work,” she said.
She used her grant savings to buy her first stock without asking anyone for money.
“I saved my R370 grant to get the first stock because I didn’t want to bother people by asking for favours. Everyone is going through a lot and people don’t have money,” she said.
Rain is her biggest challenge. On a bad day she makes more than R150, and on a good day more than R250.
Booi encouraged others not to wait for the government to find them work.
“I would suggest people to hustle instead of waiting for the government to come up with jobs because they will wait forever,” she said.
Pictured above: Amahewu.
Image source: Hullets Sugar
