My husband passed away and I had to take care of the family

I am Olívia Salvador Nhancule, I am 56 years old, natural from Mandlakazi District, Gaza Province. I started my business in 1996 selling different fresh products such as lettuce, cabbage, tomato and corn at an informal market. I have four children all grown up, and now I live with my grandsons.

My husband passed away in 2004, fact that made me take my business seriously to have how to maintain my family, because until then, I used to do business for past time.

In 2013, I attended a training of how to be economically self-sufficiency, and then I changed my business area because I learned that a business should be a thing that gives us incomes. For that moment until now, I sell used clothes, what we call “calamidade”. During a long time, it was a good business, but it grows and other people embraced the same business, but I did not feel intimidated because I had my formation and I knew how to survive, so I continued and built two rooms in my house, so now we do not have to share the space.

However despite having made gains 4 years ago now I find myself struggling and thinking about doing another kind of business such as selling eggs because selling used clothes is no longer being very profitable with before.