France Nyaka

The burden of unemployment in the rural Mandela village near KwaMhlanga has not deterred a group of five women from coming together for the common purposes of collecting rubbish and making a living out of it.

The determined women decided to collect papers, bottles, boxes and plastic containers so that instead of throwing them away as rubbish, they sold them to be recycled, with a view to making money and supporting their households.

Speaking to The New Age, the group spokesperson Kate Maphanga said that they initiated the group in 2010 after realising the adverse effects of high unemployment.

In their village, named after icon Nelson Mandela, the majority of people are unemployed. To seek employment, and for those who are lucky enough to have jobs, they have to travel by bus to Pretoria every morning, returning at night.

Maphanga said that their daily working hours start at 6am. The task involves walking around the village collecting rubbish like papers, containers and other litter. They even visit liquor outlets to collect bottles.

They return later in the day carrying sacks of their material on their heads and shoulders. They then sort the rubbish and sell it to recycling companies in Bronkhorstspruit, outside of Pretoria.

She said that they worked hard to register their business so that it can be developed and create job opportunities.

“The burden of joblessness in the rural village used to give us sleepless nights. But that did not discourage us from collecting disposable materials to put bread on the table for our families.

“We now enjoy doing our flourishing work despite having to wake up very early to start work at about 6am,” said Maphanga.

She added: “We are on a mission to register our business so that it would generate more job opportunities.

We do not see a huge difference between ourselves and those who travel to Pretoria to work because we manage to earn from R1500 a month depending on our sales.”

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