By Anita Dangazele
- Babalwa studies law during the day and braids hair in the evenings to help her parents in the Eastern Cape.
- The young mother gives half of her monthly student allowance to her family because basic items cost too much money.
Babalwa spends her days studying law and her evenings braiding hair. The 24-year-old student works hard to survive and support her family.
She comes from Elliotdale in the Eastern Cape. Both her parents are unemployed. Babalwa is the oldest of four children and helps provide for her family, including her seven-year-old son.
She gets R1,716 a month from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. She shares this money with her family back home.
“My parents are both not working. They depend on my son and my siblings’ grant money. So I give them half of my allowance to help with groceries,” Babalwa said.
She said the grant does not cover everything.
“I realised that I couldn’t live on half my allowance. My groceries don’t last through the month when I include toiletries,” she said.
Babalwa learnt how to braid hair when she was in high school. She turned this into a small business on her university campus.
She advertises her work and has found regular clients. She charges students between R200 and R250.
She charges working people between R300 and R500.
“Because I’m not the only braider around campus, competition is tough. So now I also do house calls,” she said.
Babalwa said doing hair helps her pay for her daily needs and look after her family.
Pictured above: Babalwa braids a client’s hair in Gqeberha.
Image source: Supplied
