A week ago last Wednesday, one of my teammates and I had the unique opportunity to visit one of the largest townships in all of Johannesburg, Alexandra (fondly referred to as “Alex”). For those of you who are wondering what a township is …under Apartheid, blacks and “coloureds” were confined to specific residential areas—so there was a clear distinction between where whites lived and where non-whites lived. These areas were called townships. Nowadays, these communities (generally located on the outskirts of cities) are still incredibly underdeveloped.
One of our entrepreneurs had traveled all the way from Alex to Robin Hills (about an hour by taxi) in order to attend our business training course. Consequently, we felt we owed it to her to travel to Alex to assess her business and discuss the possibility of receiving a microloan. This particular entrepreneur is a baker. Every morning, she wakes up around 4am–spends 2 hours baking scones–and then sells her scones on the corner of her street to people on their way to work. She has very little money, and the R72 (R36 round trip, times two separate meeting occasions) she spent on taxi fees to get to and from the training was probably a significant sacrifice.
She and her sister (and their two children, ages 11 and 18 months) share a living space. Their “house” could not have been more than 10 feet long by 10 feet wide. A large bed occupied much of the room, and there was no running water anywhere to be seen. The most noticeable appliance was the stove, where our entrepreneur faithfully bakes her scones each morning.
Yet, despite this “lack” of materials possessions, I have never felt more welcomed into a home in my entire life. As Greg and I walked in we were greeted with warm smiles and big hugs. We were asked to sit in their only two chairs, with a third chair serving as a coffee table. Our entrepreneurs’ sister promptly cleaned the only four cups they seemed to own and began to prepare tea for the four of us. We had to ask our entrepreneur some pretty serious questions about how she would, logistically, attend each weekly meeting. We were very clear in the fact that if she were to receive a loan, each weekly meeting was mandatory—and missed meetings incurred a fine. Our entrepreneur had clearly thought out a plan of action for how she could get to and from meetings—and reminded us that sacrifices are necessarily if you want to advance in your business.
Leaving her home, I knew there would definitely be obstacles to encounter throughout the course of the next few months—but she had unwaveringly won my support. I believe in her. I think she can (and will) succeed. And most importantly, she reminded me why I moved 10,000 miles away from everyone I know and love.
If you’re interested in learning more about Alex, please feel click here.
