Kharendwe's taxi runs on grass and water

Unemployment is a stark reality affecting millions of South Africans every day, but despite the challenges it produces, it also allows thousands of people to come up with bright and creative ideas every day to sustain themselves.

While some may choose to drown in their misery, others choose to make the most of what they have at their disposal, and they are the ones who live to share their inspiring stories about how they beat the odds.

In Tshikundamalema village, deep in the bundus of the Vhembe District, lives a young man who has come up with the idea to use his father’s donkeys to transport people around and, by doing so, he now earns an income for himself.

Kharendwe Mundalamo told Limpopo Mirror that he was staring at the (imaginary) crystal ball one day while sitting at home, when he realised that a man’s power and ability to do anything on this earth lay in the mind. So, he approached his father, Mr Josias Mundalamo, and asked him if he could use the family’s donkeys and donkey cart, so that he could fend for himself.

“When my father gave me permission to use them, I first started fetching firewood and water for villagers at a fee. As my business slowly began to grow, I started to also use the donkeys to deliver bousand (building sand) for people and small building contractors who are building but do not have vehicles. I even drive elderly villagers to payment points during month end.”

Kharendwe said he did not need petrol or diesel for this job; all he needed was to make sure his donkeys were fed. “My donkey cart is powered by grass and water, not petrol,” he smiled.

He also makes donkey carts, which he sells for about R4 000 each. “I wonder why people get angry when some foreigners say South Africans are lazy and only want top jobs. I concur with them. Our people do not want to do hard work, they are used to getting things for free from the government,” he said.

When asked what message he had for other young people who sat at home, doing nothing, he said they must think out of the box and do something for themselves. “There are people who may feel that using a donkey cart in this day and age is enough to damage one’s reputation in society, but the truth is, we must try anything that can bring in money, so that we are able to sustain ourselves. Forget about what people might think or say and work for your family,” he said.

Date:09 April 2023

By: Victor Mukwevho

Victor Mukwevho Ne-vumbani joined the Mirror during it's inception in 1990. He joined the SABC newsroom in 1995, and was known by  listeners as "A u fhedzisela ari". He was a news editor for The Tembisan Newspaper from 2007 to 2015. He rejoined the Limpopo Mirror newspaper in June 2022 as a freelance journalist.

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