It was the 30th of March 2020.The president of Zimbabwe has just announced that for the next 30 days, the country would be completely shut down. No unnecessary movement, no public gatherings, no working. News about the nationwide lockdown was immediately dismissed by many Zimbabwean families, primarily those that worked in the informal sector were socialising, interacting with others is at the very centre of work in the informal sector.
Grace, a 21-year-old girl, works with her parents by selling a variety of fruits and vegetable, snacks and handmade garments on the streets. Grace’s father is a mechanic who repairs virtually anything from cars, bicycles, and computers. Like 80% of the country, Grace and her family rely on selling goods in order to survive.
Grace’s livelihood and impoverished standard of living takes a deeper negative turn when the national lockdown is announced. Unable to interact with customers and forced to stay at home, her family struggled to get food on their already small table.
When police start patrolling the streets to ensure compliance with Covid 19 regulations, Grace and her family initially ignoring the lock down rules, in order to go out and find money for their next meal. Beaten and arrested many times by the brutal police and military force, for violating the rules, Grace and her parents can longer keep risking their lives. Grace’s father reaches a point where his body cannot with stand anymore beatings. With no government support or compensation for the unemployed or informal sector workers, Grace is forced to look into alternative means to support her family, one of them being prostitution.