The project has been running successfully since 2004 and has hosted 440 training sessions — with over 2 313 beneficiaries — over the years, and the initiative says that the benefits of upskilling can clearly be seen.
Mama Nomsa Zimema (54 years old) is from Thembalethu in George. She has been sewing from her home for nine years and subsequently taught her husband Steven and her son Gavin, who help her with the hemming machine and fine trims respectively, says the organisation.
As she earns an income, she buys fabric. She is now going to attend her first professional sewing course offered by Bernina and believes that she will then be able to produce really professional work, the organisation adds.
According to the initiative, Nomsa's dream is to train young people in the art of sewing and looks forward to empowering herself first and then others in her community. She is excited to be joining the Clover Mama Afrika family, learn, grow and, in turn, empower members of her community with the knowledge she gains from the project.
"I am so honoured that Professor Vlok has chosen and appointed me as a Mama Afrika for the Clover Mama Afrika project. I can't wait to start attending the regular upskilling and training courses and to uplift and empower my community with everything I will be learning as a Mama Afrika. Being under the guidance of Vlok is truly a dream come true," says Mama Nomsa.
"We are proud to appoint our 60th Mama Afrika and feel that it is such a measure of success to have so many successful, hard-working and passionate women forming part of our project. We have definitely started this year off on a high. Mama Nomsa is a great addition to Clover Mama Afrika and with her excitement to learn and work hard, she will most certainly make a difference in her community and in the lives of those around her," says Professor Elain Vlok, Clover's manager for the Clover Mama Afrika Trust.
The organisation concludes that by harnessing the strength of the human spirit — and creating an infrastructure that will enable the poor to drive self-help initiatives to continually improve their lives — Clover Mama Afrika continues to strive to upskill, empower and educate Mama Afrikas in their communities. This allows them to share those skills with others living in their communities.
For more information, visit www.clovermamaafrika.com. You can also follow Clover Mama Afrika on Facebook or X.
*Image courtesy of contributor