For most youngsters, the festive season is a time for play and carefreeness, but for one particular group of boys from Shadani, it means doing serious business. They make some pocket money by selling mavhungo, a delicious wild fruit that is only available over this time of year.
Limpopo Mirror ran into Rohula Mukhwanazi (9), Maanea Munzhelele (11), Mukonisi Phalanndwa (8) and Dakalo Kwinda (10) next to the busy road at Shadani village, near Makonde, over the weekend and stopped to have a chat with them. For these four aspiring young entrepreneurs, the profit they make from selling this fruit will provide them with enough pocket money to buy their own snacks for the next couple of months when school reopens this week.
Maanea, a learner at the local Ravhura Primary School, said selling the wild fruit kept them busy and out of trouble during the holidays. "We are lucky because we stay next to the mountains where mavhungo are found in abundance. We go to the mountain every morning and sell them fresh to the motorists and local passers-by. The money we make will make a very big difference as we will be able to buy ourselves snacks, so we don't have to be reliant on the food from the school's feeding scheme."
Maanea's sentiments were echoed by his friend Mukonisi. "Business was booming over the past two weeks, with many people who came home from Gauteng for the festive season. We sold everything we had within a few hours. Then we would go back into the mountains to pick more fruit and sell those too. I wish every day can be the festive season because it is the time where we make a quick buck," Mukonisi said.
Dakalo advises his peers to keep themselves busy during school holidays. "After helping our parents with domestic chores, we should also find time to do something that will improve our lives. Look, we had the opportunity to go up the mountain, pick mavhungo without paying anything and make some money. We wish that other young people will learn from us, that we can help our parents by making a little cash for ourselves," he said.