Lungi never gave up, even when the only means to support her family meant she had to stand on the roadside selling masks; fast forward five months, and her life looks completely different.
Johannesburg, South Africa (01 March 2022) – Hard work and dedication always pay off, and Lungisani, who goes by Lungi, is proof of that. In October 2021, she was barely making ends meet and spent days on the roadside selling boxes of masks; today, she is a chicken farmer, quickly making a success of her new business.
Lungi was interviewed by the talented “I Have A Name” photographer, and her story was featured on the popular Facebook page in October last year.
“My name is Lungi, I’m the mother of 4 beautiful kids ( 7 and under) that God has blessed my husband and I with. Lungi is short for Lungisani – which means “to make” or ” to create”.
My husband works in construction, and as you can imagine last year really hit the business hard and we had to make some really tough choices about our finances as besides making our own ends meet we are also supporting other relatives.”
Lungi explained that the couple started doing many small jobs to add to their income. They also homeschooled their children, which added an element of distraction to their already busy lives. Lungi and her husband hustled so that the people that they looked after could feel secure. They even kept on their nanny, who only had them as support.
Lungi sold her masks, and her husband started making chicken runs on the side. Throughout their struggles through the pandemic, Lungi and her husband always made time to help others.
“Every morning I come and stand opposite Kings School with my box with masks. I pray for the people in the cars that drive by. I’ve met many interesting people. One is a homeless man called Aaron. He walked up to me one of the first days I was there and asked me if I had any magic spells for him to help him get money. I told him that I only have prayer and a relationship with the Lord and he let me pray with him. Now he comes by often and we pray together. I brought him some soap and washing powder and told him that if he wants to get a job he needs to clean up and smell better, and he has actually started washing and looking after himself.”
The “I Have A Name” photographer shared that Lungi is “one of those people that make you smile and feel better about the world”. She was confident that Lungi wouldn’t be selling masks for long, and she was right!
The talented, anonymous photographer, shared a very update this week. Lungi and her husband used the money they made from their small businesses and started a chicken farm.
“Last year things were difficult and we were really praying for my husband to get more clients, but we took a leap of faith and invested in a bunch of baby chicks, which are now fully grown and ready for the chicken market. I also used the money that I made selling masks to buy some piglets that we are now raising. Our eldest daughter is now in school.”
If you find yourself in the Nothern suburbs of Johannesburg and want to know more about Lungi’s organic raised chicken, you can get the details from I Have A Name here.
She took just five months to turn her life around, and we are so deeply impressed by her hard work and dedication.
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