He stands next to his cart of goods and waits for people to approach him. Most give an offhand wave, a polite “no thank you”. He smiles and adjusts his cap. A young man approaches him.
He stands next to his cart of goods and waits for people to approach him. Most give an offhand wave, a polite “no thank you”. He smiles and adjusts his cap. A young man approaches him.
It is a student with a red Relay shirt and a cream beanie. The student hands over four rand and is given two packets of Nik Naks. Another student approaches, a girl this time.
She opts for two Yogueta suckers. Business has picked up with a new customer every few minutes. It is not only the snacks and trinkets that attract his customers.
It is his charisma and happy persona. He is smooth. He is a natural businessman. This however, is not the only side to Zukisani “Zukisa” Lamani.
Zukisa stays in a three by four metre bedroom in a house he shares with five other people.
There is only one toilet. It is a tight fit, but it is home. He wakes up at 6am every morning and goes about his morning routine: get up, sweep the floor, make the bed, do the laundry, brush his teeth, wash his face, and eat breakfast.
His housemates continue to sleep soundly. He squeezes his cart away from his bed to move it out the way of his bedroom door. The cart is cumbersome and takes up a lot of space but he has to keep it safe. It supplies his livelihood.
“Selling goods is not a job. It’s a way to survive. It’s not what I want to do, but it’s what I need to do for now.” It is 6.25am. He is rushing, as usual.
Like a jackrabbit, he bounces from room to room. He darts to the front of the house with a watering jug in hand. He may be late but he makes sure to water each and every flower, herb and vegetable.
It is here that he feels most at peace. He waters his little garden with the utmost pride. Many people who meet Zukisa do not experience this softer side. He does not show it.
He is not only the loud and enthusiastic street seller, but also a quiet Samaritan that dedicates most of his time to helping others from his community. This is the side that not many people know, but it is a side that showcases who Zukisa really is.
Every Wednesday he walks the 2.5 kilometres from his home to St Mary’s Primary School to teach a group of grade six learners. He works with a non-governmental organization (NGO) called “feedingtheself”.
The organisation is an integrated gardening, education, and community development NGO. It is dedicated to helping people make the most of what little they have. Zukisa started working with the organization in 2014 under the guidance of Chirag Patel and Duncan Park, the co-founders of the NGO.
Zukisa is not the only one that has a love for gardening. His pupils rush to the garden to water the plants and check on their progress. In his short time working with Chirag, he has learnt a great deal about gardening that he now applies to his own garden and which he teaches the children.
Today’s lesson is on how to plant potatoes. He gets the children into a small huddle. He waits for the expectant murmurings to quieten. He gets down on his haunches so as to talk to the children and not above them.
“These are potatoes.” He holds a small piece out to the children. He pauses. After a couple of seconds he asks, “What are these?” A slow out-of-time response of, “po-ta-toes”, makes its way around the group.
Zukisa slices the rest of the potatoes into small wedges. He picks the biggest piece and holds it up, skin side up. “This is the way you plant a potato,” he says. He turns the potato over, “Not this way,” he turns it back to skin side up, “This way".
He hands each student a wedge and asks, “Which way do you plant a potato?” the children proudly show him the correct side up. He plants the first potato and signals for the students to do the same.
This is today’s gardening lesson. Zukisa also works with an NGO called “Inkululeko”. This organisation makes it their mission is to provide South African township youth with the skills, support and guidance necessary to apply to, attend, and succeed in university.
Every Monday afternoon, Zukisa makes his way to Nombulelo Secondary School in Joza to work with the kids who attend the homework help sessions that Inkululeko provides.
Unless he can get a lift, he walks the 4.1 kilometres to the school. He has no choice. He has no car and taxi fare is far too expensive. Before the students arrive, he sweeps the floor, mixes juice, and prepares peanut butter sandwiches.
He hears the students outside and ushers them in. Then he waits for them to settle down. As they start to work, he walks around handing each student a sandwich and a cup of juice. Zukisa ensures that the students are working.
If they need help, some of the older students or one of the few volunteers helps them. His role here is more a supervisory one than a teacher, but if need be he is more than happy to help if he can.
Zukisa spends a lot of his free time studying and making sure he understands the work the students do, so that he can help them. His desk at home is full of textbooks about history, macroeconomics, natural science, and mathematics.
“If I don’t know something, I go and find it out. I want to be able to help the students and I want to understand more things.”
As he sits in the corner of the room while the students continue their work, he points to the students working hard then to the students chuckling and smiling and stops his gaze on the students being helped by other students.
He smiles. “This makes me happy. This is why I do what I do.”
