Business is booming for Sibangilizwe Ndlovu, 56, who runs a small funeral parlour in the working-class district of Kelvin North in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city.
"Most people [used to be] reluctant to get into the funeral business because of the myths that are associated with the dead, but with more and more people dying from HIV/AIDS and other diseases related to the economic crisis ... it has become a lucrative business.
"The reason small businesses like ours are still getting customers is because we still charge affordable prices compared to the big and established funeral parlours, who are now only charging in foreign currency, just like all other businesses in the country.
"However, there is still a large number of people that cannot afford to bury their loved ones in the city because of the high costs, and they instead take them to the rural areas ... That is an opportunity we take advantage of, to provide the hearse that will transport the corpse; depending on the distance, I can rake in up to R2,000 [US$200] a trip.
"On a normal day I handle between three and four funerals, but on a good day I can handle as many as 10, and when that happens I have to juggle my time so that my three vehicles can be stretched to cover all the funerals.
"When I started business eight years ago, I used to handle two funerals a week, but these days people are dying in large numbers, and those dying are from poor backgrounds; people who cannot afford medical specialists and expensive medication, so there is always business for us.
"The average cost of a simple wooden coffin ranges from R2,000 [US$200] to R5,000 [US$500], while expensive coffins range from between [US$500] to [US$1,000] while caskets can cost as much as [US$2,000].
"With hunger setting in on the country, more people are going to die, and we will not be able to handle the number of clients; but business is business, we will have to expand."
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"Most people [used to be] reluctant to get into the funeral business because of the myths that are associated with the dead, but with more and more people dying from HIV/AIDS and other diseases related to the economic crisis ... it has become a lucrative business.
"The reason small businesses like ours are still getting customers is because we still charge affordable prices compared to the big and established funeral parlours, who are now only charging in foreign currency, just like all other businesses in the country.
"However, there is still a large number of people that cannot afford to bury their loved ones in the city because of the high costs, and they instead take them to the rural areas ... That is an opportunity we take advantage of, to provide the hearse that will transport the corpse; depending on the distance, I can rake in up to R2,000 [US$200] a trip.
"On a normal day I handle between three and four funerals, but on a good day I can handle as many as 10, and when that happens I have to juggle my time so that my three vehicles can be stretched to cover all the funerals.
"When I started business eight years ago, I used to handle two funerals a week, but these days people are dying in large numbers, and those dying are from poor backgrounds; people who cannot afford medical specialists and expensive medication, so there is always business for us.
"The average cost of a simple wooden coffin ranges from R2,000 [US$200] to R5,000 [US$500], while expensive coffins range from between [US$500] to [US$1,000] while caskets can cost as much as [US$2,000].
"With hunger setting in on the country, more people are going to die, and we will not be able to handle the number of clients; but business is business, we will have to expand."
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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