Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
WHEN Ms Moreblessings Dube (47) failed to sit for the then-Zimbabwe Junior Certificate (ZJC) in 1990 because her single mother couldn’t afford to pay her fees, she thought all hope was lost.
“Life was hard and my mother being a single parent was evidently struggling and failing to cope. I then decided to get married and I was only 16 years old then,” she recalled.
Ms Dube said women, especially those who marry while they are still children, experience various forms of societal exclusion and discrimination and she was no exception.
Early marriage, she said, is a harmful practice that continues to affect millions of girls around the world and the causes should be explored and dealt with.
Although it has declined in Zimbabwe over the years due to sustained Government efforts, it is still pervasive in some sections of society and is sometimes fuelled by religious practices.
Ms Dube’s case however, is one that offers motivation to a lot of young girls and other women who might face the same challenges.
She is now a mother of three and a prominent Gweru entrepreneur who despite having to drop out of school and getting married while young, managed to rise up to become a force to reckon with in the fashion and food industries.
Ms Dube is the proud owner of popular and exquisite fashion houses Mobies and Charly’s Glam in Gweru.
Hers is a story of determination, hardwork and perseverance underpinned by a clear vision and hope.
“I was born in Kwekwe in 1975 in a family of six. I failed to sit for my ZJC because my mother could not afford the fees. Life was just hard and I dropped out of school,” she said.
At the age of 16, Ms Dube fell pregnant and got married thereby effectively ruling her out of formal education.
Nine months later she was a teenage mother and was renting a room in Ascot suburb in Gweru with her husband who was working as an accounts clerk at a local school.
Her husband, she said, wanted a stay-at-home wife and so she stayed home where household chores became her full time occupation.
As a devout Zaoga church member, she participated in Matarenda (Talents), a programme which seeks to empower women in areas that they are good at.
“So I decided to start vending. My husband didn’t want me to do anything but just stay at home so when he went to work, I would go to the market and buy fresh produce and sweets for resale at our lodgings. Around 5pm I would hide my stuff from him and for sometime, he didn’t know I was engaged in some form of business,” she said.
At the age of 21 Ms Dube had her second daughter.
She said with two children to support, she decided to declare to her husband that she was into vending. Ms Dube said it was not easy convincing him before she went on to open a flea market in the Central Business District in Gweru.
“I started making trips to South Africa and Botswana selling doilies and bringing in clothes and shoes for the flea market. It wasn’t easy but I had to do it — boarding the train to Francistown with a child strapped to my back,” she said.
Ms Dube who now employs eight people, and has won several business awards from different organisations, said perseverance, determination and the need to achieve greatness inspired her to soldier on and grow her business.
She said from a flea market, she had a table at the Global Village corner where she sold clothes, shoes and other stuff she brought in from South Africa and Botswana.
“In 1998 I enrolled at a private college and sat for six O-level subjects which I passed and my goal to have an O-level certificate was met. After that I enrolled for a marketing diploma which I completed and now I am considering doing a degree,” said Ms Dube.
Her husband, she said, migrated to the United Kingdom and hasn’t set foot in the country in the past 20 years.
“As time went on, I moved from flea markets to running my own shops in town and from these shops, I managed to send all my children to private boarding schools. I told myself that my children should live a different life from the one I endured,” said Ms Dube.
One of her daughters was studying in Ukraine but is back in the country now while the other two are advancing their education in the United States of America.
“All this could not have been possible if I had decided to sit on my hands,” said Ms Dube.
Last week, she was one of the businesspeople to be honoured at the Midlands Megafest Awards held at an upmarket lodge in Gweru.
In her acceptance speech, Ms Dube touched many people with her emotional biography.
She said she was subject to hard times and faced many difficulties which led her into early marriage.
“What threatens to break you makes you strong. The hardships I endured growing up made me strong and I am now among the successful entrepreneurs in Gweru.The difficult background and getting married while still very young made me work harder. I found myself renting spaces in people’s shops to sell commodities which in turn motivated me to own a number of shops in the Central Business District of Gweru,” said Ms Dube.
The Gweru businesswoman received recognition from the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Midlands Chapter in 2014 after scooping the 2nd runner up prize in the SME sector.
In 2018 she received recognition from the Women’s Business Coalition in Gweru.
In the year 2020 she received the Platinum Business Woman of the Year award hosted by Megafest Business Awards which qualified her for the national Megafest event where she won the Gold Award.
“I want to encourage women to start their own businesses no matter how small. One has to start from somewhere and grow gradually. The Government has given us business opportunities as women and we must take advantage and establish something for oursleves as women. From renting a room in Ascot I now have several properties and its a result of hard work and determination and I believe with the right mindset any woman can do it,” she said.
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