Days are busy for Angeline Mutangadura, a 64-year-old mother and grandmother. She spends part of her day teaching a crowded classroom of pupils at IGAVA secondary school. Once her students leave for the day, she tends to her chickens, which lay her eggs, she sells in the community. With her 70-year-old husband Martin Mutangadura paralyzed after a stroke, a 14 year old daughter Lindsay still in school and two of her grandchildren staying with her, she depends on the extra income to keep the family fed.
The family are long standing community members having been assigned to the school in Igava, a former commercial farming area, in 1992. Since then they have witnessed a lot of change as more and more small-scale farmers moved into the area when land reform took place. She and her husband also secured 6 hectares of land about 5 km away from their home in an area called Chipikiri, where she grows her own maize, vegetables and has banana trees.
Never having driven before, trading in the community and selling her produce has never been easy. Public transport is expensive and she often has to wait hours to travel to the trading area, or growth point in Wedza or Marondera, the closest town. A single trip could cost about 35 Zimbabwe dollars (USD2.5) which is 4.38% of her monthly teachers’ salary of 800 Zimbabwean dollars (USD 55).
During the week, while her days at school can be long, and she still must collect firewood, cook and care for the family, she sells her produce to other community members nearby. At the weekend, Angeline spends her day selling at the Wedza market trying to increase her sales. Some months she can spend more than 350 Zimbabwe dollars (USD 25) on transport.
Angeline believes that African men are convinced that the African culture is built on a tradition of leaving women burdened to carry heavy loads. While education can sometimes help, she still thinks that men often are convinced that they are superior, and it can be hard to shift these attitudes. She explains that the common belief in Shona is “musha mukadzi” that “Women must work hard so that her home will be good”.
The Hamba, which she shares with three other women, has changed her life. She never thought she or other rural women would ever have the chance to drive any sort of vehicle. Now she saves a lot of time every day. Angeline and her group members were excited to be one of first groups to test the Hamba. They didn’t know each other very well, she said that “for me, it was all about facing all the hardships of life by myself, I am grateful that Mobility for Africa gave me friends, I have someone to talk to and share my problems with.” Angeline and her group members now work together in big garden growing different types of vegetables. It has also saved them a lot of time collecting water and firewood. They now sell all their produce to the community and to the growth points using the HAMBA for transport.
Her partners in the group are Vaida Marimo, who owns a grocery shop at IGAVA and also has a small farm and Scholastic Chidemo who runs a popcorn making plant, she also does bake and sewing. Combined they estimate they used to spend about 924 Zimbabwean Dollars (USD 61.60) every month on transport to get to the Wedza Market. Together they are earn around 1500 Zimbabwe dollars (USD 100) from their projects. Angeline attests that it is easier together as a group as it saves them money and time. It also ensures that their projects are productive even when she is attending to her fulltime job as a Geography teacher.
Their monthly income has improved since their transport costs have been reduced. If she can access microfinance, she thinks she can perform wonders.
Before use of the Hamba, Angeline used to gain profits of around 500 Zimbabwean dollars (USD 33) and most of it was consumed by transport costs. She now uses the extra money to provide proper health care for her husband, Martin, who needs Physiotherapy which is an expensive procedure in Zimbabwe. She can now afford to pay her daughter Lindsay’s tuition fees. Part of the money is also fed back to her individual and group projects for consistent productivity.