View From The Stalls Blog 9

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View From The Stalls 9

 

Spoke with an old ex-flea market buddy Vincent yesterday. Health issues have sadly not allowed him to continue trading, so he’s found another avenue of income…baking. Seriously? Gosh, Are we traders resilient or are we resilient? Anyway, he shared with me his story of survival. Every Sunday morning, he rises at 5am and gets to work baking and sugaring doughnuts which he sells at his local church after the morning service, as well as from his home. For a guy who previously couldn’t boil water without lumps in it, his foray into baking is quite something!


And that’s not the only great news coming out of Bokmakkierie, an old, still very much impoverished suburb of Cape town. His eldest daughter Janine who used to trade with her father on the informal markets, has landed herself a very tidy job indeed in the film and entertainment industry. A self-taught make-up and hairdressing artiste, her talents were noticed by a visiting film executive at the Green Point Market where Janine was doing fancy face-painting on children and adults. They exchanged numbers, and the rest, as they say, is history.


She has developed her talents to such an extent that she is now the chief make-up artist for a major film company. Not only that, with her background in Cape culture festivals, notably the Cape minstrels, she has become an assistant director on movies which have a Cape cultural theme, and as I understand there are many in the pipeline. She travels extensively with the film crew to all parts of the country and has gained such a positive outlook on life. “You go girl!” 


Notwithstanding her success, she has never forgotten her roots. She still resides in Bokmakkierie and assists her parents and siblings both morally and financially. This gem of a girl, wife, and mother of two, is also raising five foster children from one family who, for certain reasons are not able to care for them. This is the caliber of one of our own! Kudos Janine, you’re the epitome of what progression truly is. Your success is inextricably linked to all in the informal economy, and we’re proud of you. She is currently working on a sequel to the blockbuster movie, Shaka Zulu. “Wow” watch this space...



~ By Q-Squared


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