Profile of CCDN member:
Name: Christine Mupundumani
Age : 26years
Sex : Female
Christine Mupundumaniis a twenty six year old single parent to two
boys- the first one, aged six years’ is already in primary school while the
second one is who is two years younger than his sibling attends crèche close to
their rented home in Zengeza 2, Chitungwiza. With his two kids in tow, Christine walks with a swagger as she approaches the Information
desk behind the stage were artists are performing.
Christine's woes began in 2007 as Zimbabwe’s sociopolitical and
economic crisis climaxed. Her husband Tendai, was retrenched from tile-making
company based in Harare’s Southerton industrial area with a paltry allowance.
Faced with a hyperinflationary economic environment characterized by food and
basic commodities shortages, Tendai joined the great trek down south and jumped
the border with former workmates to look for employment opportunities in South
Africa. At first Tendai applauded the idea hoping her husband would remit his
earnings and help take care of their families. Tendai kept his promise and
would send groceries and money every month to his family through bus drivers
who ply the Johannesburg-Harare route. As the elders saying “say out of sight
out of mind”, With the passage of time, the remittances grew lesser and so did
the frequency until they turned into a sad twice a year ritual and eventually dried
up after three years. Tendai‘s cell phone number went unanswered at first until
it was not reachable.
As her husband’s support gradually decreased, Christine sensed
danger and was forced to look for an alternative source of income to supplement
her husband’s dwindling remittances. With the tacit support of her landlord who
sympathized with her plight she started attending to clients who needed their
hair done under a tree in her landlord’s backyard in 2009. Slowly she gained
valuable experience and improved her skills as her clientele grew and in 2010,
she built a two-roomed corrugated iron shack which he lovingly decorated and
turned into a Hair salon. She invited two male barbers and two female
hairdressers who rent space from her and work in the salon. Her thriving
business has enabled her to pay rent, feed her kids and educated them leaving a
healthy surplus which she is saving for a rainy day. Her husband’s remittances
are the last thing on the back of her mind and she is grateful for hard times
that created an opportunity for her to be a successful businesswoman.
Despite the euphoria and self-confidence that comes with
running a successful enterprise, Christine is a worried woman. She knows her
business premises are illegal under Chitungwiza’s by-laws and they also violate
national public Health laws and other town planning statutes marking them as
legitimate targets for state-sponsored demolitions like the notorious Operation
Murambatsvina.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways”, was how she summed up
her experience. “I never thought I would be so financially independent in my
life. I feel in charge and whatever I need in life- I have to work hard, earn,
save and purchase
“This road-show is great and was a real eye opener for me as a self-employed single parent who
looks after two kids from the proceeds of my hairdressing salon” she concluded.
Christine is now a member of CCDN. She has applied for Youth funds from CABS. She met and joined a performing arts group through CCDN. Visit her facebook page
