Vuyokazi was living off a few slices of bread to sustain her day in and day out after she lost her job and couldn’t find work again. But thanks to small acts of kindness and an opportunity she refused to miss, she soon found herself changing her life. Today, she is a proud businesswoman. This is her story:
Kraaifontein, South Africa (01 February 2024) — As the person in her family that so many depended on, Vuyokazi Majali had the weight of the world on her shoulders after she lost her insurance company job. At that time, becoming a proud businesswoman seemed like someone else’s dream. Little did she know then that her stars were still aligning.
Her two children were living in Johannesburg while she stayed in Cape Town. Providing for them was impossible because she could not provide for herself. Vuyokazi would be unemployed for two years; unable to find work largely on account of being older.
“I learnt exactly how many slices of bread was in half a loaf of bread…I needed to divide the half a loaf for the day. Living off a few slices of bread for breakfast, lunch and supper. I had a little bit of sunlight soap which I used to bath with and use as toothpaste. Then, eventually, I went 2 days without bathing. When I didn’t have toiletries then I knew it was getting worse.”—Vuyokazi Majali.
Everything changed when one fateful day, she happened across an ad from Taking Care of Business inviting people to an Open Day.
TCB, started by Tracey Chambers and Tracey Gilmore, is a non-profit organisation that was created exactly with stories like Vuyokazi’s in mind. Through their experience in the retail industry, they knew that the high volumes of fashion waste could be put to better use; especially for unemployed women.
Through different programmes, TCB helps women not only get the stock they need for their future businesses but also management skills and community support.
Vuyokazi made it to the Open day on account of someone offering up kindness to pay for her transport. A security guard also paid her way home. Those encounters and the opportunity for a new life would shift not only her outer world and path to becoming a proud businesswoman but also her relationship with herself.
“Before joining TCB I was a very shy and angry person because of my upbringing. My self-esteem was very low because I couldn’t afford to pay for anything,” Vuyokazi reminisces.
She joined TCB and soon bettered herself on so many fronts, from new business skills to inner development thanks to TCB’s mentors.
In a full-circle moment, when she was able to purchase stock, the first thing she did was give shirts as gifts to those who helped her on that fateful Open Day.
With hard work, skills sharpening, learning how to start and manage a business and learning how to love herself, Vuyokazi stands tall today as a businesswoman with her own shop (a registered business named V&M boutique) and two stalls.
But she hasn’t forgotten her tough times and uses them as an empathy point to help others. Today, she has a monthly outreach programme where she makes sure she puts away funds for toiletries so that she can gift sanitary pads, roll-on and other essentials to girls who need them, knowing full well what it is like to go without.
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