The ManicaPost
TanyaradzwaMujati
Post Reporter
“I SPENT four nights cradling my then four-year-old daughter during chilly nights in the open in Sakubva. The place I called home had been demolished.”
These were the words of Ms Josephine Chikowo, a 47-year-old single parent, as she recalled the ordeal she went through when she lost her lodging in 2005.
From that experience, Ms Chikowo resolved to be her own person and to go a extra mile in everything to see her adorable daughter making it in life.
True to her resolve and determination, her daughter Rejoice is now enrolled at a university where she is in her third year.
Ms Chikowo who lost her husband in 2002 and never remarried ekes a living from selling airtime along Herbert Chitepo Street in Mutare.
She has been in this business since 2006.
Ms Chikowo said: “When my husband passed away in 2002, my world crumbled around me. My daughter Rejoice was just two years old and I was new in Mutare. Most of my relatives are in Harare and l had relocated to Mutare to be with my husband.
“When he passed on, I remember harbouring thoughts of relocating to Harare to be with my family, but I realised that I would add more burden to them. I had to take the bull by the horns and fend for my daughter. Those days I was staying in Sakubva and working as a part time tailor,” she said.
Ms Chikowo added: “I would wake up every morning and take my child to work with me. She would be on my back while I toiled all day. The money I was earning was too little for me to hire a domestic worker to look after my daughter. I could not stay home either as I had rentals to pay and I also had to feed my daughter.
“Unfortunately, one day, out of the blues, my boss said I should stop bringing my daughter to work. I had to quit the job despite knowing that I had nowhere to start. It was a bitter pill for me to swallow, but l had to soldier on.
“I have a qualification in cutting and design, so where I used to stay, my landlord operated a tailoring school. I asked her to allow me to use her machines at night and she agreed. These were the days when fleece material was trending. I would sew baby wear and I made a lot of money through that.
“However, disaster struck again when my landlord stopped me from using her machines. I had to look for another trade route.”
Ms Chikowo said when a clean-up campaign was rolled out, her shack in Sakubva was demolished and that further compound her woes.
“The clean-up campaign took us by surprise. I was staying in a shack and the place I called home was demolished. I had no family or friends to turn to, so I ended up sleeping in the open at Sakubva Musika.
“It was in winter and the weather was so unfriendly. I spent four nights cradling my then four-year-old daughter in the open. A Good Samaritan felt pity for us and offered to take in my child. She could not take me in as well, saying her husband would not allow her to bring strangers home.
“I agreed because I could not bear watching my child suffering like that in the open. I continued sleeping at Sakubva Musika for a month until I raised money for rentals. I took back my daughter.
“I became a fruit vendor in the Central Business District. My baby was very beautiful and was adored by a lot of people. She was always smart and people liked her.
“One day, I saw Mai Marume (Senior Assistant Commissioner) and she applauded me for being smart. She asked me to relocate to Mutare Central Police Station and operate from there. That was my breakthrough. My stock would be finished at Mutare Central Police Station before going anywhere,” said Ms Chikowo.
She said she later ventured into airtime selling.
“Relying on fruit vending was not sustainable. I extended my operations to airtime vending and my life transformed completely. I would wake up and take my child to school before starting to work. From my earnings, I managed to pay for my child’s school fees.
“I remember when I tried to ask for the child’s school fees from my in-laws, they said they could not afford it, leaving me to raise it on my own,” she said.
Ms Chikowo said raising her daughter was not easy as people would look down upon her.
“It hurts because no one chooses to be a single parent. It is a result of situations beyond one’s control. My child went to Chancellor Junior School and later enrolled at St Dominic’s High School for her secondary education,” she said.
“Selling airtime paid for my child’s school fees. There was no day that my child was sent back home over non-payment of fees. Now she is at a university doing her third year. What I noticed is that God has plans for us. When we feel like the world has shuttered, He opens doors for us,” she said.
Ms Chikowo also said she sacrificed to remain single for the sake of her daughter as some girls end up being abused by their step-fathers.
“I did not see the need to remarry. I saw some single mothers remarrying and taking their children to rural areas and dumping them at their grandparents’ houses. I did not want my child to be exposed to such an upbringing. I was also afraid that I would marry a monster who would end up abusing my daughter.
“My daughter grew up well, and believe me, I am proud of her. While growing up, she never befriended girls. She says girls always talk about having boyfriends. There is a lot of peer pressure among girls than boys,” she said.
Ms Chikowo also highlighted that being a mother is not about giving birth, but about caring and making sacrifices for a child’s upkeep.
“A mother is someone who is there for her children, who makes sacrifices and cares for their welfare. Just because one has given birth does not make her a mother, but the character that the person possesses does,” said Ms Chikowo.
