Hard work pays more than crime
ALEXANDRA – Wonderful Moyo's dream is becoming a reality.
A man’s resilience in the recycling industry is getting him closer to his dream in the music industry.
Wonderful Moyo’s journey took him out of the squalor of the Joburg inner city in 1999 to Alexandra’s squalor which he exploited to change his life one step at a time.
Accrediting his progress partly to the exposure of his rubbish collection business along the Jukskei River, he said, “Years of lone hard work helped me to raise about R2 000 to R3 000 per month which increased after support from the Greater Alexandra Chamber of Commerce and the Joburg Business Hub.
“They helped me to understand the key steps to starting and managing a formal ‘rubbish’ collection business which is hated by many including, registration, training and entrepreneurship attitude.”
He started with hauling a trolley full of scrap metal and plastic collected from the dirty water and river bank and bottles discarded at taverns. “This work of promoting environmental management and preventing damage to vehicle tyres attracted the attention of the chamber which included me in the Mandela-Jukskei River and Alex clean-up campaign.”
He said the police also came to certify a filthy location which he had to clear for his business in Rasta Village, near the river in Ext 7. The spot is now fenced off and gated, has new structures for the business and his home and, space for waste collections bought from other recyclers. “I have a formal arrangement with established recycling companies which bring and collect their bins filled with metal waste and cages for cardboard paper.”
This, he said, guarantees him a steady income to put food on the table. “I hope it [the business] grows and gets baling machines and lifters to pack, compress and weigh the waste.”
Moyo is looking for support to acquire a vehicle to deliver the waste at his own time rather than waiting for the companies to come and collect it.
His elation was apparent when he displayed his nondescript studio equipped with basic recording equipment – a keyboard, laptop, sound cut and speakers. Humming to sound bites of his hip-hop recording, he said, “Music is my passion. I no longer beg to record elsewhere and this has reduced my costs but, I still need support on other aspects of recording, mastering and mixing.”
He helps youths with potential who are hampered by costs associated with equipment-linked exposure. “Many talented artists lost to the country could be saved if the Department of Arts supports emerging studios who are willing to work with them at a nominal cost.”
Moyo however, put a damper on his positive development. “People should realise that results only derive from hard work.”
This said in reference to those who steal and rob, “We should learn to ask for advice and support rather than steal and endanger others’ lives for what they worked hard for,” he said pointing to two instances when unknown people jumped into his yard filled only with waste for disposal elsewhere.
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