The Story behind an artisan
bricklayer
Born and bred in Kwamashu. Sfiso Mhkize has
come from very humble Beginnings. Being raised in Apartheid South Africa was
very difficult for him. The reality was he didn’t have a bright future ahead of
himself if things didn’t change politically. He never let this predict his
future though. Sfiso attended school every day including Saturdays. He started
to help fix the buildings at school at the age of 13 and that is when he found
out how he could improve his future. Sfiso told us that he was good at what he
did. He was passionate about his work and because of this his quality of work
was always good.
Fig 1. Mr Mhkize on his daily job.
When we first spoke to Mr Mkhize about his
experience as a brick layer he told us that he had been doing it for 38 years
with a certain pride in his voice. He told us that he is a 53 year old man and
that he started laying bricks when he was 15 years old. He started laying
bricks with his father who apparently taught him how to do it. He explained
that he first learnt when his father got a piece of land on a plot of the man
he worked for, they had to build their own house on the piece of land. His
father was previously a brick layer before he started his new job of which Mr
Mkhize didn’t elaborate on. He explained that he and his father built the
entire house that they thereafter stayed in. He said that from there onwards he
knew that he wanted to do this as a living as it wasn’t too strenuous but it
paid well. Thereafter Mr Mkhize laid bricks in his community for the people
that he knew as a small job. He then said that he wanted to be better than that
and he wanted to earn more than what he was at that stage. So at approximately
the age of 19 he went to a robot with a sign to say that he was a good brick
layer and he said that out of sheer luck a man saw him on the 4th day of
looking and asked him to come and work for him. He then worked for this man for
the next 25 years approximately and thereafter he was picked up by a
construction company to come and lay bricks for them. Mr Mkhize said that he
was extremely good at the job as he was very accurate and precise with his
work, this is why many people wanted him to work for them. He said that this
only came from his many years of experience on the job.
Reflecting on our interview with Mr Mkhize,
we feel grateful to have had the opportunity and are inspired by his story. Mr
Mkhize’s upbringing proves that hard work and commitment is the key to success
and embarking on our very own journey in construction we can take a leaf out of
Mr Mkhize’s book with all the experience he has behind him. Hearing Mr Mkhize’s
story makes us realise how no matter who you are or where you come from no
ambition is too small as long as you have the right mindset. Mr Mkhize’s vast
experience in the construction industry has gifted him with knowledge like
nobody else in his field and he takes much pride in the quality of his work.
This shows just how passionate he is about what he does and we feel priviledged
to have had the opportunity to speak to a man who is making a difference one
brick at a time.
Ross
de Beer, Daniel Smit, Michael Buck, Ruan Pretorius
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