Homeless call community to get on the same page
While the programme has proved successful, a major challenge faced by vendors is a lack of selling and storage space.
THE Durban streets offer no respite for thousands of homeless who struggle to survive across the city each day. A lifeline comes in the form of Street Booksellers, a programme that specialises in empowering unemployed and homeless men and women to sell second-hand books that are donated by schools, old age home, and individuals.
While the programme has proved successful, with over R50 000 worth of books sold in the first nine months, a major challenge faced by vendors is a lack of selling and storage space. Hoping to find permanent selling spaces in north Durban, programme founder, Stuart Talbot of the Denis Hurley Centre is calling on local business to partner with the initiative that enables people to earn enough of an income to get off the streets.
One vendor, Vusi Meyiwa, said he earns about R500 in a good week.
“The programme has helped me a lot. I’ve got no words to explain it. I have been able to do so much with the money I have earned,” he said.
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Talbot said the average vendor earns R2500 per month through the initiative wich was established in 2018 after a local book shop owner approached him with the idea to do something good with surplus books.
“If business have spaces where they are willing to let us set up, that will really help,” he said. –
Meyiwa echoed this need.
“If I could ask for one thing, first and foremost I would ask for a selling space and storage space where I sell,” he said.
The budding entrepreneur was drawn to the programme by a friend who was already selling books successfully.
“I was always asking my friend for money and then he suggested I start selling books like he was. I was trained for two weeks and learnt how to communicate with clients and to take down their details if they have book requests so I can try and find the book and help my clients,” said Meyiwa.
Sponsored trolleys can also assist the vendors and a prototype is currently being tested by one vendor.
“At the moment, vendors are limited as they can only sell their books at fixed locations where they set up their books on tables. They also have a limited number of books to sell as they physically have to carry these books. With a specialised mobile trolley the vendors could sell every day and from any location around the city.
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The trolley would also provide a safe storage space for the books and would allow the vendor to categorise the books and satisfy customer needs more quickly,” said Talbot.
The trolley system is expected to be implemented in December.
The programme was recently nominated and became a finalist for the SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards.
“Winning this award would enable us to scale up a proven model so we can help more people. It would be a big vote of confidence and motivator to those already on the programme, and those hoping to be. It would also give us greater leverage to show the municipality how the homeless can be a solution to the problem rather than the problem,” said Talbot.
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