Do you know that money is valuable, no matter how small the amount is? Ask aspirant informal entrepreneur Josephine Ndou (45) of Tshivhilwi village, east of Thohoyandou, who makes a living by selling Dilogos (iron bells placed around the necks of cattle so that they cannot get lost).

Some people may look down upon her, but deep in her heart the mother of six knows that there is nothing more important than working hard to build a better future for her kids who are all still at school.

“Sometimes I try my hands at dressmaking but I enjoy selling dilogos. Laziness only breeds misery, but hard work and dedication are the only pillars of success. They can laugh at me and say whatever they like, but I know my kids will never go to bed on an empty stomach.”

Because of her indigent financial status, Josephine does not stock the dilogos herself, she takes them from a community member and she deducts some little commission from each of the bought dilogos. “I do not have money to buy stock and I struck a deal with someone who manufactures the dilogos at home. I realized that this was better than sitting at home and waiting for the manna to fall from heaven. How on earth can one just relax and wait for the miracles to happen? Why do we allow poverty to terrorize us while we can do something on our own?”

Josephine sells her dilogos in central Thohoyandou. She says her customers are mostly male elders who rear cattle in rural areas. “When one dilogo is bought, I know I will have another customer because they tell one another about my business. I commute everyday because there is nothing I will gain from sitting at home. If we do nothing, hunger and poverty will continue to destroy us until we depart from this world.”

The zealous Josephine says her dilogos start from R25 to R160, depending on the size desired by the customers. “Big oxen and cows will obviously need bigger dilogos whereas the calves will go for the small ones. The bigger the dilogo, the higher the price.”

She refused to disclose the amount she makes on a daily basis. “Believe me, there is a small fortune in this business but I will not disclose my commission because of personal reasons.”

Josephine says she feels pity for those women who still stay at home and blame poverty. “How can you say someone is poor if we are all blessed with free brains that we can use to improve our lives? That is laziness at its worst.”