Culture, Health & Society
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Tinotenda Chikohora day in the life of a street hawker gave me an insight into the life of a struggling woman in a busy town, living in an urban slum. A day with Ruvimbo (not real name) brought to light issues that so many people overlook. As dusk approaches, with many winding off the day locking up offices and hurrying to beat traffic jam, yet the day is only starting for others. Hawkers start trickling on the streets of Harare’s central business district, to sell their merchandise along the capital’s busy streets. “I like Chinhoyi Street, my merchandise always gets sold out,” Ruvimbo said as I resumed my seat next to her. As I set over with Ruvimbo talking about her life for the better part of the day, I realised I was beginning to enjoy playing cat and mouse with the city council police who were ghosting in on vendors in civilian clothes. As other vendors trickled in, others giving up their spaces out of fear of losing merchandise Ruvimbo introduced me to the surrounding vendors as,“ munin’ina wangu” (her younger sister) to calm their nerves. In that flash with the women, I managed to hold firm names such as Mai Thomas and Mai Ru who turned out to be from Caledonia, Ruvimbo from Epworth and Nyasha from Hatcliffe Extension. As I thought the day was over, after human traffic decreased, I was shocked as vendors kept creeping in. Sensing my shock, Ruvimbo softly asked whether I was planning to go home or hang around to make more money. “Munin’ina iHarare inoda kutongwara, asi wakabva kumusha manje-manje? (You need to be clever and improvise if you want to survive in Harare. Are you just coming from the rural areas?)” asked Ruvimbo. Out of curiosity, I followed her and other two girls referred to as Kudzi and Vee. We went to the Harare Gardens where a number of other women were changing into night gear. I learnt with shock that the experienced women use public toilets, eateries and club toilets to change clothes. However, most
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The Parade - Zimbabwe’s Most Read Lifestyle Magazine
February 2013