I sell sex and chicken feet to feed my children, says mom of three

A mother of three from Lenasia South says she sells chicken feet on the street and sex to men to make sure her young children have something to eat.

Thirty-two-year-old Zinzi* has never been to school and cannot read or write. She has three children – two boys, aged four and three, and one daughter, who is 21 months old. 

Zinzi came to South Africa from Mozambique in 2014. She says she separated from her husband in 2019. 

She was financially dependent on her husband, but he hasn’t supported the children financially for the past seven years. 

Her children do not receive social grants.

“I’m my children’s only hope.”

Making food stretch

Zinzi says she makes between R150 and R300 a day selling chicken feet. She spends about R250 buying new stock every two days. 

According to Zinzi, her profits are not enough to buy groceries in bulk. Instead, she buys small amounts of food, such as tomatoes, cabbage or bread for the family’s meal. 

“On difficult days, pap may be all they have,” she says. 

“It is very rare that we sleep without any food. I try to at least have cooking oil and mealie meal, because we can mix those and eat, drink water and sleep,” she says.

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Zinzi says she cooks enough pap to keep some for breakfast and for the following day. 

When there is not enough, the family shares meals.

“We share one plate, me and my daughter,” she says. “Then the boys eat together on days where the mealie meal is not enough.”

She says when her chicken feet sell well, she buys food the children enjoy. This includes bread, a few eggs and a couple of affordable snacks. 

Selling sex to survive

Zinzi started selling sex after separating from her husband in 2019. 

“I had no other alternative but to sell sex to feed my children,” she says.

The men pay her between R100 and R300 cash for sex, and she says she makes about R500 most months.  

Zinzi says at times the men will buy food instead of giving her cash. 

“I find sex clients who can at least buy us food even if they last for a week.”

When hunger affects health

In March, Zinzi’s toddler daughter got sick.

“She had diarrhoea, was vomiting and very weak,” she says. 

“I was told that my daughter was going to die and we were rushed to hospital.”

Zinzi says her daughter spent a week in Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. 

“Doctors told me my daughter was malnourished and not getting nutritious enough food,” she says.

“I am humiliated by the way I feed my children.” 

No support system

Although she has relatives in South Africa, including a brother in Gauteng, they are not able to support her.

 “My family will never be happy to learn that I sell sex for survival.” 

She says the stress is affecting her physical and mental health. 

“Currently I have periods that stop for a few days and start again. Sometimes I lose my temper and am very harsh on my children,” she says. 

“Last year I attempted suicide because things felt heavy.”

Zinzi says she is too afraid to go for medical check-ups or to take her child back to a clinic.

“At Baragwanath they threatened to take my daughter to social services,” she says. 

“I wish to have a stable income or have money to be able to sustain my business and stop selling sex.” DM

* Not her real name

First published by Health-e News as part of an eight-part series about food insecurity in South Africa.