Young mother hopeful, despite income challenges
The 22-year-old mother from Jackson informal settlement has been trying to find employment since matriculating in 2014.
A TABLE full of sweets and snacks has played a vital role in the life of Phumzile Miya and her baby.
The 22-year-old mother from Jackson informal settlement has been trying to find employment since matriculating in 2014.
She told the COURIER she wanted to study marketing, but her dreams were shattered when she fell pregnant.
Living with an unemployed mother, she found hope and looked for greener pastures.
Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she decided to sell sweets and snacks.
She said the money she generates from selling helps with groceries, paraffin, candles and other necessities.
Miya’s baby gets a social grant, but she claims the money isn’t enough as it only buys formula milk.
“I need to study or get a job to help my mother out because really it’s hard having no job and no qualification.
“My baby is four-months-old. I need to buy clothes but I can’t because I don’t have enough money, said Miya.
The sweet table
Although her table of sweets generates a few Rands, it has enabled Miya to help her mother with transportation money to fetch her medication. She told the COURIER that she was able to save some money, which she used to buy furniture and repair the two-room shack they live in.
“If it wasn’t for this table, it would’ve been hard for us to survive. I don’t want to be a person who begs for things. I prefer working for myself to get things.
“Most of my peers undermine me, but it does not worry me because I know where I’m going in life and what I want to achieve,” Miya said.
She doesn’t want to depend selling sweets for long and hopes to save money to get her marketing qualification, which she says she won’t rest until she gets to pursue her dream career.
Challenges
She sets up her table at 8am outside a school in her area and again after school at around 1pm.
“When schools close for the holidays, it becomes hard for me to get any earning, but I continue selling at home.
“Sometimes, I have to take my child to the clinic while I need to go sell,” said Miya.
