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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Health Reporter
A petite five-year-old girl is spotted carrying a basketful of green mealies and sweet potatoes on her head which she sells to her customers around Njube, Mpopoma, Iminyela and Mabuthweni suburbs.
To the uninformed, this tiny girl could be a victim of child labour but Eunice was just living by values that had been instilled in her from birth by her hard-working parents.
Being the last born in a family of six, she too had to play a role in ensuring that the Nkomazana family always had food, school fees and pocket money to buy luxuries that their parents could not afford.
The family was not only known for producing entrepreneurs back then but also for cooking tasty simple meals inspired by Eunice’s father, a chef who worked for a Greek family that lived in Bulawayo in the 1960s.
Eunice went to Nsukamini Primary School and during weekends and school holidays she would be seen moving around selling vegetables and other farm produce to residents in different suburbs. After primary school she proceeded to Matopo Mission for her secondary education. Eunice and her five siblings managed to pay for their boarding, a luxury few Blacks could afford then, from their buying and selling business.
They even managed to help their parents buy their first house in Njube suburb.
The family meals made with love by her father inspired the birth of what is popularly known as M&M Joyous Events today.
Now 61, Eunice or Mrs Dlamini, believes that selling vegetables at the age of five is the reason why she managed to start a catering and events company from scratch drawing inspiration from her late parents and siblings who could sell anything and everything for money.
“I started making money when I was five. We would sell vegetables, linen and many other things with my mother and siblings during school holidays while my father worked as a chef. He worked for a Greek family that lived in the eastern suburbs and that is how all of us fell in love with the idea of cooking all meals with love, from the simplest to the most complicated dishes,” she said.
“I still believe the potato salad we used to make at our home is the best in town. We can make any salad with ease because we spent a lot of our childhood days with Greeks and they are gurus in that area.”
In 1980 just after Independence, Eunice got a job as a customs officer but her mother discouraged her saying she would rather do nursing.
The following year, she was hired as a temporary teacher at Nhlangano Primary School in rural Tsholotsho for two terms and used the salary to buy her parents cows as a token of appreciation for instilling good values in her.
“In 1981, I trained as a nurse at Mpilo Central Hospital where I found a new market for lingerie, pyjamas, etc. I never stopped making money even while earning a salary. I then specialised in midwifery and won several awards for being the best in the country. I was posted to Gwanda where I served as a community nurse and after some years, I joined the then Postal Telecommunication Company as their nurse,” says Mrs Dlamini.
“I continued selling and became the well-known nurse who always had vegetables and cakes for everyone. I made so much money and decided to buy our house in High Mount with my husband.
“I also found myself working with non-governmental organisations like PSI, UN and eventually got my last job at SNV where I worked as a reproductive health specialist.”
Eunice said the idea of venturing into catering had been lingering in her mind for years and she started by experimenting with recipes at home for her husband who does not eat isitshwala.
“As I was working all those years, I knew I had to start somewhere and decided to experiment at home. I would take recipes from magazines, hotels and lodges that I went to and ask my husband who worked at the Cold Storage Company for feedback.”
She said while working for SNV, she started buying water glasses, plates, pots and cutlery from Botswana as she prepared to open a catering company which she later named after her two children, Mnqobi and Mqoqi.
The word joyous was taken from her favourite Bible text which describes the mood that engulfed the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea before their enemies caught up with them.
“I had prayed and waited; the time finally came for me to do a test run of my capabilities and equipment. The very first event was on February 7, 2007 when I catered for 100 people who had attended my niece’s 21st birthday party. Among the guests was a family friend who then asked me to provide catering services for 500 guests in two months time and that is how I made my way into the industry,” she says.
“That first wedding gave me chills, I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have any staff members but I engaged some old women from Nguboyenja who helped me cook food in large quantities. From there I grew, bought a few tables, plastic chairs and that is how bookings came by.”
Mrs Dlamini says over time, she managed to get contracts from companies until she decided it was time to quit her job at SNV.
“One time I got a request to provide catering services for a funeral and although the family couldn’t afford my services, I offered to help free of charge not knowing I would meet the who’s who of Bulawayo at the same function. The late Vice President Dr John Landa Nkomo was there and some respected business people. It was at this function that I got some of the clients who are still supporting my business,” she said.
In 2011, Eunice said she got her package from SNV which she used to renovate a section of the Haddon and Sly building where M&M is operating from.
She then focused on her company full-time with the help of her husband and to date, she has done scores of small and big events in and out of Bulawayo.
Mrs Dlamini said she has now lost count of State events that have come her way but the biggest was the three-day funeral wake for the late Vice President Dr John Landa Nkomo.
The three-time businesswoman of the year award winner has 10 permanent employees and 15 contract workers.
M&M also provides learning opportunities for abused young girls from children’s homes around Bulawayo.
“This is a dream come true. My job gives me satisfaction and I’m happy to know that I’ve been selling since I was five. I remember writing in an old journal that I want to own a hotel one day and I’m convinced God will grant me that wish.
Unfortunately, I lost all my three brothers but my two elder sisters are alive and they help me in training young people because we all grew up cooking and as such we know all the hacks and tips for healthy and tasty meals,” she adds.
“I also do a lot of events for free as a way of giving back to the community which keeps supporting us. I have a passion for old people and I still frequent Njube where it all started to visit my mother’s friends who are now old just to share some of our meals with them. I’m humbled by the support we get from companies, non-governmental organisations and individuals, some of whom I worked with during my years as a midwife and field officer years ago.”
Eunice is building a 500-seater events venue in Highmount which she says will help her achieve some of her dreams.
“I want to run a people driven restaurant where residents will specify what exactly they want to buy from us and determine the menu. Eventually, I will have my hotel and I know that our clients will continue supporting us,” she says.
“We also wish to host small and big parties at the venue and be able to provide families with tasty homely meals away from home.”
To aspiring young women, Mrs Dlamini said: “I’m a staunch Christian. Everything of mine goes through God and it has helped shape my personality and how we operate as a business. I think our youths and fellow women should also trust God to help them grow any business and be willing to learn from others. I don’t mind mentoring anyone and as a motivational speaker, nothing will give me great joy than instilling skills and values that will see many of our women and girls succeeding in business.”–@thamamoe
Online Reporter