Mary Nyadome is an informal trader operating in Ward 17 Majuru area of Goromonzi District, a peri-urban settlement, some 37 kilometres away from the capital Harare. Mary is a wife and mother to 3 boys who has been the family breadwinner since her husband was retrenched from the company he was employed at in Harare 3 years ago. She sells second hand clothing bales at Majuru Business Centre, an enterprise that allows her to put food on the table.
Following the conducting of training sessions in September by Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (VISET) in Goromonzi Mary got the courage to challenge for the Vice-Chair of the Goromonzi Primary School Development Committee (SDC) and emerged the winner. This was a ground-breaking occurrence in that all females that have previously been a part of the SDC have only been ordinary Committee members, given seats more out of tokenism, arising out of the patriarchal nature of the community. She ran her campaign on the ticket that women were more committed and hardworking, as well as being more involved in children’s lives as a result of their nurturing instincts, hence why she should be more deserving. She also drew upon the training she received, saying it was time to dismantle pillars that keep women out of decision-making platforms on developmental issues that concern them in the majority.
Mary gave credit to her husband who is now very supportive of her leadership journey, as he is now doing a share of household duties during her absence from home. This has enabled Mary to be a part of processes such as the pre-budget consultation meetings, where she has made contributions on the need for more accessible markets for informal traders and better provision of health services.
