Life of a vendor in Pinetown streets
Highway Mail interviews James Roberts (54) of Sarnia who is a fruit vendor at the intersection of Moodie and Hill Street.
INSTEAD of feeling sorry for himself after losing his job, James Roberts (54) of Sarnia decided to work in the streets of Pinetown where he sells fruit at the intersection of Moodie and Hill Street.
Roberts is a father of two girls aged 10 and nine and after being jobless for two years he decided to help his brother-in-law who started selling fruit 30 years ago.
He is the only white man in that area selling fruit but he said he has not encountered any problems in the five months he has been working there.
“I have a good working relationship with all the people who work here, actually we are like a small community, we are very protective of one another.
“Even with the customers, I believe that if you treat people with respect, they will respect you too,” he said.
Roberts said he works six days a week, Monday to Saturday from 8am till 6pm and when he has to go to the market he has to wake up early to be there at 4.30am.
“The challenges we face here is that there are many people in the streets selling the same things and the market price has increased drastically in the past year. Here on the streets it is the survival of the fittest as some days are very quiet, month ends are always the best as it gets very busy and we make decent money,” he said.
Roberts describes himself as a man of God with lots of faith.
“Just because I lost my job that does not mean it was the end of the world for me, it was a beginning of something better, I believe things will be alright.
“My wife has always supported me as she was the breadwinner in the two years that I was unemployed.”
He said his dream is to build a church one day or open a restaurant.
“Although I love my job here and get some income the reality is my girls are growing up, I will need to find another way of making a living to provide for them and pay for their school fees.
“People should know that everything happens for a reason, no matter what hardships you face in life you must not give up.
“As long as I still have two hands and a mind my family and I will never go to bed hungry nor will I become a beggar,” said Roberts.
