It’s Day 75 of the South African lockdown. People are hustling out there.
From its earliest beginnings, Joburg has been a city of hustlers. No one is going to make your way for you in this town, unless you’re a member of the very privileged few. People work hard in Jozi, often on several jobs at once.
Now that we’ve hit Level 3 of the lockdown, Joburgers are hustling harder than ever.
The Underbridge Chef
I met Mbali Ndlovu on the first day I went to take photos of the Melville Food Parcel Program, when South Africa was still under Lockdown Level 4. Mbali is one of the program’s volunteers.
Last week Mbali asked if I would come take photos at her food trailer, where she sells take-away meals just outside Milpark Hospital. Her bright yellow trailer stands beside the bridge where Barry Hertzog Avenue passes over Napier Road. So Mbali calls herself the Underbridge Chef.
Mbali is 35 years old and originally comes from KwaZulu-Natal. She lives in Milpark and has an 11-year-old son. Mbali has worked many cooking jobs, the most recent of which was at a Spar grocery store in Bryanston. To get to that job she had to take two taxis — one from Milpark to downtown Joburg and another from downtown Joburg to Bryanston. She worked from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
After Mbali lost that Spar job, she decided to take a big risk and go into business for herself. She found a food trailer and procured a permit to sell outside the hospital.
Mbali opened her business in March, just as COVID-19 arrived in South Africa, and was almost immediately forced to shut down for two months. She tried applying for various types government relief, including food aid, but never received anything. Finally she found out about the Melville food parcels and was able to get one. She also signed up with the program as a volunteer.
Mbali was able to restart her business last week, but she’s still volunteering with the food program every Thursday.
I bought lunch from Mbali today: beef stew, pap, morogo, and salad for R35 ($2). It was an absolute feast and I’m still full four hours later.
Go buy lunch from Mbali if you’re in the area. Her yellow trailer is on Napier Road, between Barry Hertzog and Milpark Hospital, every weekday. Her number is 073-905-6985.
Chris the Lockdown Bread Baker
As I mentioned briefly in a previous post, my neighbor Chris Green has started an artisan bread-baking business under lockdown.
Chris normally works as a guide for international tourists, mostly in game parks outside of Gauteng province. His wife, Penny, is a bassoonist for the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Like so many South Africans, Chris and Penny have found themselves completely out of work for the foreseeable future — no end in sight.
Luckily Chris has a hand-crafted pizza oven in the backyard, and decades of experience baking artisan-quality bread loaves. He bakes the bread in big iron pots, just a couple of loaves at a time, and it’s the best bread I’ve ever eaten. Each loaf is an edible work of art.
To order bread from Chris, contact him at 082-491-9370 or chriscashan@gmail.com.
Eenblond on Fire
My friend Gilda Swanepoel also has an interesting lockdown hustle. Gilda normally does walking tours in Soweto, also with mostly international tourists, and has had no work since the pandemic hit. So she started a side business selling firewood.
I don’t have a wood-burning fireplace and hence no need for wood. But if I did need it I would call Gilda. Now is the time to do so because it’s about to get very, very cold in Joburg.
Gilda is based in the Melville-Westdene area. Contact her at 082-472-6414.
Keep hustling, Joburgers. Until tomorrow.
That bread looks delicious.
It’s insanely great.
Mbali is struggling to get her business going and yet finds time to volunteer every Thursday? What an impressive woman. And your lunch looks delicious!
She is impressive.
#JoHustleBurg
Exactly.
I LOVE the Underbridge chef story! I don’t live in SA anymore but I just bought 10 meals from her via ewallet (which I still have), as a karma investment (someone else will eat them for me, even if it’s Mbali) 🙂
Thank you for featuring such interesting people, stories and experiences, Heather.
Oh my goodness, this is so amazing! Thank you for telling me ????
Oh wow! Such a thoughtful gesture. I am inspired to do the same.
Here I am thinking I live too far from Milpark to go buy lunch.
Mbali told me what you did, Tumi. Thank you. In addition to making Mbali’s day, you have also made mine 🙂
Thank you again for sparking a chain reaction that reminds me how many good people there are in the world.
Mbali’s story is really touching I wish she can get a tender to cook lunch for companies around her area so that she can make a leaving I remember that yellow caravan next to the bridge,I once saw her giving left overs to the street kids who sleep under that bridge around 17:45 I think it was time to go home big up mbali you are far2kind
Thank you so much, for your comment, Bonnie. Mbali is a rock star!
Mbali is really humble and this woman can spoil you with her cookings, I went to milpark hospital the other day and my appointment with a doctor was delayed so I decided to grab something to eat,,, guess what!! There was mbali at the corner with her caravan mmmmmmm I bought beef stew, pap and vegs for only R35… I asked her all this delicious food for that amount??? She smiled and say yes.. The food was delicious.. Mbali you rock and how I wish I can win lotto and sponsor your cookings to the next level ✊✊ thanks and can’t wait to feast on that super stew kkkk,,stay blessed ????????????????
Thank you so much for the comment Ally. I’m glad you enjoyed the food too!
Mbali way to go keep up and be strong
Wow! A round of applause for Mbali her food are Mouth watering …de gue during lunch time its always long..n she serves with love n dedication…have u tried her fried chicken n Beef chuck!? N de Morogo …whooo u can tell Des a secret recipe de…n her food r clean an appetising….u won’t go wrong with Mbali….wat is amazing …my son has heart problems so he can’t take oily food. . but wen I explain to Mbali she smiled n said our Morogo is less fat n I will give u a grilled beef chuck…wow! I felt relieved ????????…come n enjoy Mbali’s food u won’t go wrong….under the bridge chef next to Milpark Hospital…Tnk u! Mbali we appreciate u????????
Thanks so much for the comment! Mbali is clearly very popular.
Guyz thank you somuch for the luv ,to Heather thank you for sharing my story,plzz keep doing wat u doing for the street hustlers of jbg
❤️