Sinenhlanhla Ngubane, a poultry farmer, was hard hit over the weekend when someone allegedly killed 174 of her chickens; a business she ran to sustain herself during a time when unemployment is high among the youth.
According to StatsSA, young people between the ages of 15 and 34 accounted for 63.3 % of the total number of unemployed persons.
Ngubane, 22, from eManguzi in KwaZulu-Natal believes that this was an act of jealousy as all her chickens seemed to have been hacked with a panga.
“I have had the business for three years and it has helped me a lot over the years. When I started my first year at the University of KwaZulu-Natal I did not have money for my fees as I was still waiting for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to approve my application. My chicken business came in very handy as I was able to register, buy books and clothes for myself. I was also able to help buy food for my family,” she said.
Ngubane said last week she was featured in a local newspaper and she thought that was going to bring her clients, instead a day after the article she woke up to her worst nightmare.
“The newspaper showed my hustle and progress in my poultry farm but someone decided to kill my babies (chickens). I had 190 chickens and they killed 174 and stole six. They only left 10, which means I lost R16,200 for the October cycle. It was not an animal attack but some evil person who hacked them with a panga,” she said.
She was only in matric when she started her poultry farming as she grew up in a home where they had chickens. “I decided to farm chickens to sell to people but it was difficult at first as I did not have customers. However, things got better when I started getting customers and my life had changed for the better ever since. What happened is very sad but I believe the sun will rise and I will try again,” she said.
Good Samaritans open up to help Ngubane re-establish her poultry business
Young farmer devastated as 174 of her chickens are hacked with panga overnight
Image: Twitter
Sinenhlanhla Ngubane, a poultry farmer, was hard hit over the weekend when someone allegedly killed 174 of her chickens; a business she ran to sustain herself during a time when unemployment is high among the youth.
According to StatsSA, young people between the ages of 15 and 34 accounted for 63.3 % of the total number of unemployed persons.
Ngubane, 22, from eManguzi in KwaZulu-Natal believes that this was an act of jealousy as all her chickens seemed to have been hacked with a panga.
“I have had the business for three years and it has helped me a lot over the years. When I started my first year at the University of KwaZulu-Natal I did not have money for my fees as I was still waiting for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to approve my application. My chicken business came in very handy as I was able to register, buy books and clothes for myself. I was also able to help buy food for my family,” she said.
Ngubane said last week she was featured in a local newspaper and she thought that was going to bring her clients, instead a day after the article she woke up to her worst nightmare.
“The newspaper showed my hustle and progress in my poultry farm but someone decided to kill my babies (chickens). I had 190 chickens and they killed 174 and stole six. They only left 10, which means I lost R16,200 for the October cycle. It was not an animal attack but some evil person who hacked them with a panga,” she said.
She was only in matric when she started her poultry farming as she grew up in a home where they had chickens. “I decided to farm chickens to sell to people but it was difficult at first as I did not have customers. However, things got better when I started getting customers and my life had changed for the better ever since. What happened is very sad but I believe the sun will rise and I will try again,” she said.
People have opened up to help Ngubane, and one of those was Angie Khumalo of Metro FM who has committed to buy Ngubane 200 one-day- old chicks, Twitter user @ManqobaSnr promised to contribute 200 one-day- old chickens as well.
Chicken farmer hatches a winning idea
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