By Foibe Paavo
Swakopmund, Aug. 31 — Dreams of the good life in big cities hardly come true, especially for village girls and small-town boys travelling to find better shelter and better opportunities far from home in a world of silver and gold and where everyone is trying to make a living for themselves.
From Damaraland to the coast, Maria Matzke and her husband Gillian Matzke moved to Swakopmund to try and make a living for themselves.
“Motivation didn’t lead us here, but because we could not sit at home looking at each other in the face, we had to start selling here, with the help of the municipality,” Maria said
Both of them struggled to find employment and they dedicated themselves to selling handmade wooden products to be able to feed themselves and their son.
Maria clarified: “Opportunities don’t just come knocking at your door, you must go out there to find them and that’s why we are here.”
Although luck may seem to favour the fortunate ones, the Matzkes believe that even in the vending business, there’s high competition as almost everyone is selling a mixture of the same items and even though the pandemic is in the past, the couple is still trying to recover from it and its devastating effect.
The couple said customer support depends on different seasons especially during the holidays when tourists and local people come from Windhoek and the north to support them.
Getting customers seems to be the biggest hindrance to their success. But their faith and hopes or belief that each day is different keep them motivated.
“The day you miss out on work could be the day customers come out of nowhere and as we all know – the bread won’t put itself on the table,” said Maria.
