Meet Gumba

This morning I drove into the parking lot of the PicknPay Shopping Centre to courier an envelope to Pretoria. As usual a parking guard greeted me and I thought “Oh great, now I have to pay him for keeping our VW Polo safe for only a few minutes.” I returned shortly and there he was waiting for me. He was a friendly young guy who started a conversation, explaining that he really needed a job. Perhaps I could hire him in my garden, he suggested. He said he was a Christian, who left the Congo two years ago and has two brothers in Canada. His livelihood depends on the few rands or even smaller coins that drivers may give him for watching their cars which he says may be R30 or C$4.32/day.

But how can people live on so little money, I always wonder. I have seen car guards counting out a handful of small coins at the till for a loaf of bread which is R6.00.

Many Congolese come to South Africa searching for a better life. The only “job” they can get is a car guard. They are given trousers, a jacket with a bright yellow vest with “Security” written on the back, but no salary. Their responsibility is to provide security for the cars in their assigned row in the parking lot and to direct the drivers safely out of the parking spot which I do appreciate, but not everyone does! Some people pay them a few rands at most, while others just ignore them.

Although offering a better tip does not resolve Gumba’s long-term employment issues, the opportunity allowed me to see car guards as people with their own stories, which helped me change my initial attitude.