Helping their families by selling food
JOYCE Maunye (45) and Rebecca Sephuma (46) from Spoko Park in Mmotong are street vendors in Ladanna, who sell meals to employees in the area.
Desmond Boshego
POLOKWANE – JOYCE Maunye (45) and Rebecca Sephuma (46) from Spoko Park in Mmotong are street vendors in Ladanna, who sell meals to employees in the area.
Sephuma is a mother of three and says their business is doing well. “I love cooking for people and I’m a good cook. Customers praise our food and they know they can depend on us. We have been in the business for seven years and I’m glad because it seems to be a strong business now,” says Sephuma.
She says her journey as a street vendor started after she lost several jobs.
“I then realised that I could start my own business and generate an income on my own. I sold sweets, snacks and fruit, but I later realised that this did not generate a lot of income and I couldn’t support my family. I met Joyce and we started our business, we are now able to support our families.
“We can at least make R2 000 to R3 000 every month, that means a lot to us,” she says.
Joyce says even though the business is doing well, they face challenges, especially in summer.
“Selling meat is a gamble because if it is not sold, it rots and no one will want to buy it the following day.”
She says another challenge they face is the weather. She says due to the lack of stalls, rain and hot weather conditions have an impact on their business.
“We have bought umbrellas but due to the fire, they don’t last very long. We think that our business would run better regardless of the weather if we had a stall” she says.
