Young man beats unemployment by employing fellow youths

Following the death of his father, who was the main breadwinner in the family, Tshifhiwa Madzhie (24) was flung into a state of despair.

He had to look for a job to supplement the little income that other family members - such as his brothers and sisters - were able to bring into the family.

“The death of my father had flung me into the centre stage role of a breadwinner,” said the resident of Manavhela village. “I didn't know what to do at that time; I was just frustrated."

However, Tshifhiwa had always been techno savvy, so he bought some data vouchers to get access to surf the Internet. After some days, he managed to find what he was looking for, discovering the art of upholstery on the Internet. Soon he raised funds to buy his first sewing machine and some basic tools, and he then followed the upholstery lessons that he viewed on YouTube videos.

“It was not easy to follow the instructions on the YouTube videos at first,” he said. “But I had to focus and pay attention to details. Today I am a proud upholsterer, who is always in high demand in my locality.”

Tshifhiwa specialises in trimming and upholstery. He uses his skill to give life to all old car seats, car roofs, dashboard facelifts, door panels, car tents, tent repair, and any household and office furniture.

“A lot of youths are faced with a lack of jobs and I know that not working is a frustrating phase in life,” he said. “Therefore, I found two fellow youths, Maanda Machaba and Rudzani Luruli, and I taught them how to work on upholstery. I employed them and they are happy for the kind of skills that I am continuing to transfer to them.”

Tshifhiwa can be reached on [email protected], 071 188 1697 or 076 955 2761. 

Date:03 August 2019

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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