Guarding cars for a better life
South Africans celebrate Women’s Day on Wednesday and to pay tribute to them the POST team met hard-working, tenacious and inspirational women from different spheres of life, who talk about work, motherhood and their aspirations.
AS YOU drive down Tranquil Street, in Chatsworth, one has to look twice as Visha Naidoo, one of the few female car guards, attentively and cautiously directs motorists out of the parking lot.
Every day, for the past nine months, Naidoo, 26, has been working as a car guard, a field commonly dominated by men, to provide for her two-year-old daughter.
After Naidoo matriculated from New Haven Secondary School, she worked at a call centre in Pinetown and lived with her parents, Alvin and Shreen Malaki, in an outbuilding in Croftdene.
Two years ago, things took a turn for the worse.
The company Naidoo worked for was liquidated and, as a result, she was left jobless.
“My entire world came crashing down on me and soon thereafter I found out I was pregnant. I tried to get another job, but nothing seemed to work out.
“I even washed and ironed people’s clothing. Things did not get better because my mother, who was my source of strength, died due to kidney failure last year.”
With no income, Naidoo decided to try her hand at being a car guard.
Leaving her daughter in the care of her aunt, she headed to Tranquil Street with her partner and child’s father, Clayton Naidoo, 29, and found a spot to work as a guard car alongside him.
“I have been here for the last nine months. At first I was a bit intimidated but I did not allow my fear to get the better of me because I knew I was doing the job to provide for my baby girl.”
Naidoo described her male colleagues as “tough”.
“It is tough and the men are tough on me. In the car guard industry, it is all about turf. To some, it may just be directing cars, but to us it is our bread and butter. You must have a thick skin or else you will get bullied and even assaulted for your spot.”
Naidoo starts her day at 9am and works until 5.30pm.
On a good day she makes about R50, which is just enough to buy fresh milk for her daughter to drink, a loaf of bread and one other item.
While things were seemingly going well, life dealt her another cruel blow, when her dad passed away last week.
“When my father was alive, he supported us with the grant he collected. He paid our rent, water and electricity, which comes to about R850 a month. The money Clayton and I made went towards our daughter and a few other food items for the home.”
But through life’s difficulties and challenges, Naidoo has not given up.
“Life is going to get tougher now that my dad is no more but I have sent my CV to various stores and I am waiting for feedback. I will not stop trying to get a better job because I want to build a better life for my daughter.”