Martha Mabasa is a 36-year-old woman from Musina Nancefield who always dreamed of becoming her own boss, and now that dream is finally unfolding - not only for her, but also for 19 other local community members who participate in a sewing-skills programme.
The programme was presented by the Musina Disability Centre, in conjunction with the Outreach Foundation. The Outreach Foundation empowers migrants, local disadvantaged community members, including those living with disabilities, with social support and skills training. For this programme, they provided the Musina Disability Centre with eight sewing machines, fabric and a facilitator to train interested community members.
The manager of Musina Disability Centre, Mr Yunsa Mbewe, said: "In a society characterised by a high unemployment rate, it is important that people [acquire] skills in order for them to sustain themselves financially. We made a call to local community members to come and get free training on sewing and 30 people came forward. The training went on for three months, but 10 of them gave up due to personal reasons. We were then left with 20 people who successfully completed their skills training. It makes us happy to see these people wearing the outfits that they have made themselves from scratch. We are planning a formal ceremony where they will be presented with certificates of competence," he said.
Mbewe encouraged local people to take part in skills-development programmes to improve their lives. "We will start with free computer-skills training. Although we are doing this under the auspices of the Disability Centre, we welcome all community members to take part, including those who do not live with a disability," he said.
Martha Mabasa was extremely proud of the fact that she was now able to sew her own clothes. She hoped to open her own sewing business in the near future. "I thank the Musina Disability Centre and the Outreach Foundation for giving us the opportunity to improve our lives. There is nothing more fulfilling than putting on an outfit you have made yourself," she said.