Pandemic sent pastor 'down a financial hellhole'

When President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the country’s first hard lockdown, a pastor had to rely on handouts and a reprieve on his rent to survive, while a salon owner was forced to retrench all 29 of her employees and close her two salons.

Steven Ndlovu, 33, a pastor from Diepkloof, Soweto, and Smangele Sibisi, 30, a salon owner from Protea, also in Soweto, told Sowetan of how their lives were changed after the lockdown forced them to leave their full-time jobs.

During the hard lockdown, church gatherings were not allowed and most businesses who don’t provide essential service had to temporarily close.

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