The Story of Anzani The Bricklayer

*Anzani, took time from his much deserved lunch break to tell us his fascinating story about how he went from stacking cakes to laying bricks on construction sites. When he’s not enjoying his lunch break, Anzani works as a very skilled bricklayer who ensures that good quality is maintained in the bricklaying process.

Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Anzani is the first of five children. His family was not very privileged, with his mom being uneducated and his dad struggling through the cotton farms of Chibero. He attended primary and secondary school where he was first introduced to building. Forced by circumstances, Anzani left school and looked for a job. He worked at a bakery where he mentions that he was very unhappy. Months passed and he decided to quit and look for a job elsewhere. His pursuits landed him in South Africa, but for a while the grass seemed to not be greener on the other side. “I really struggled to find a job here”, he mentions, “It took me months of walking around factories and asking for available vacancies. After months of searching, I was lucky enough to be called by a friend who told me about a construction company that needed people to work as labour.”

Although the job he had, put food on the table, he was not ready to settle. He started working on small construction projects where slowly but surely gained more skills and experience in the bricklaying trade. His superiors saw his great work ethic and eagerness to learn so consequently he was invited to work on bigger projects more often and finally got a permanent job. Four years later, Anzani works as a very skilled bricklayer on important construction projects and continues to broaden his knowledge theoretically to make up for his lack of higher training. 

His advice for anyone interested in this trade is “BE PRACTICAL” for example; know how to use your tape measure, use appropriate and neat stacking methods and most importantly be able to interpret and understand drawings. He mentions that good attributes to have as a bricklayer, are humility and good communication skills, as you meet people from different walks of life daily.

Anzani’s story proves that humble beginnings don’t determine where you end up in life; you do. He thrived from a life of poverty and overcame extreme hardships to become one of the most important people in the building process. This shows that hard work and perseverance can pay off in the long run. These are indeed qualities we will need to adapt to survive in this cut-throat industry.