• A thirty eight year old Cape Town woman charges R60 to queue for people at Home Affairs after failing to find work despite applying for jobs for years.
• She wakes at 04:00 every morning to secure spots for clients, saying the small income keeps her family fed and gives her purpose after long job rejection struggles.
A Cape Town woman has turned long Home Affairs queues into a way to survive.
The 38 year old graduate earns a living by queuing for people who need help with government services.
She wakes up as early as 04:00 every morning to stand in line.
She charges R60 per person.
She said many people do not like waking up early for different reasons.
“I woke up around 04:00am and went to queue for people who will be visiting Home Affairs, some don’t like to wake up for different reasons,” she said.
She started the business after failing to find a job.
She said she has applied for work for a long time without success.
The woman supports two children and her brother.
She said the idea came to her after seeing people turned away because they arrived late.
“When I realised that people went back home without getting assisted because they arrived late I came up with an idea to queue for them while they are sleeping,” she said.
When she arrives, she often finds other people already waiting.
She said she explains to them that queuing is how she makes a living.
She asks them not to get angry when she allows her clients to move to the front.
At first, many people complained.
She said they felt it was unfair because they had woken up early themselves.
She explained that the money she earns is used to buy groceries for her family.
She also told them she has tried to find work but had no luck.
She said the situation has improved over time.
She usually queues for between five and ten people a day.
“I have never got less than five people, if it’s not ten it’s eight,” she said.
She said the work has helped her cope emotionally.
Applying for jobs without success had left her feeling depressed.
The hardest moments, she said, were when her children told her they were hungry.
She said there were times she struggled to find food.
A friend helped her during the worst periods.
She feared the friend might one day stop helping.
Now, she said, her family no longer goes to bed hungry.
Pictured above: Long queue
Image source: GroundUp
