Attitude of Ocean Basket waitress a lesson to everyone

It’s not every day that you meet an upbeat and inspiring waitress who, despite Covid-19 challenges, continues to set a new bar for being positive.

Saturday Citizen chatted to Ocean Basket waitress Precious Jakachia, who has been waitressing for more than seven years, to find out some of the challenges faced by members of the hospitality industry during pandemic. It all hit home when President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the lockdown on 26 March, “which led to a really, really bad lockdown”, she says.

She said she knew the amount of challenges she would face as most of her tips only came towards the end of the month, with that income pushing her to the end of the next month. Money that would have been earned to pay her rent was lost.

“My savings only lasted half a month, I managed to pay my rent for the end of March, but April was waiting and there was nothing,” she says.

She only managed a half rent payment in April. Her priority was paying for food, but she knew she had to cut down drastically. She had to cut her meals from three times a day to twice, as well as reducing the size of portions. Not only that, but coming from Zimbabwe, she also had to still try to support her family back home.

“All of a sudden, everything just goes dead and you need to try to explain to loved ones you just can’t help out for the time being.”

While being in lockdown, she recalls how scared she was, especially when the infections increasing and people she knew being tested positive. “A slight sneeze was scary,” she says but, as a Christian, she would pray. She asked God daily to protect her as she knew she had people depending on her and that she couldn’t afford to be sick with no income.

“My faith kept me going, it was the only thing I could trust.” She started baking and laughs at the fact that she has gained weight during lockdown. “But here I am. I survived by God’s grace.”

Precious Jakachia, a waitress from Ocean Basket in Randburg poses for a picture at Ocean Basket in Randburg, 25 August 2020. Picture: Tracy Lee StarkCatching two taxis to work, she continues to worry as the taxis are expected to fill at 100% capacity. This poses a serious health risk, apart from the increased taxi fares. She remains very grateful to be back at work although some days she only manages to cover her transport expenses.

Struggling through the mounting debt to her landlord as a result of the lockdown, she continues to worry, especially after receiving a letter that she will face eviction should she not pay in the next seven days. Remaining positive, she’s ecstatic to be out and about and back at work but is continuously reminded of how fragile the new norm is.

She appreciates the customers trickling into the store as the little extra in income goes a long way, and allows her to send goodies to her mom, she says. Claire Boswell-Stonier from Ocean Basket said it was important for them, as a company, to make sure their staff was taken care of.

All managers took a pay cut and shareholders and managers donated money in order to buy food vouchers for staff that weren’t receiving their usual income during the lockdown.

– news@citizen.co.za

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