Partnership stitches opportunities for empowerment
The collaboration between the local NPO, Woza Moya, and Fancy Stitch will help create employment for women.
IT was a morning of excitement at the launch of the new range from Fancy Stitch at the Woza Moya Embo Craft store in Botha’s Hill recently.
Woza Moya is the income-generation arm of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust and Fancy Stitch is an NPO based in Ingwavuma, near the Swaziland border. The partnership between the two non-profit organisations has been ongoing for 11 years.
“It is a cross pollination of ideas and for us it seems silly that we are both working independently but have the same goals – to empower women and create employment opportunities. By working together we not only grow our product range, we get double the exposure and we are helping each other to grow,” said Paula Thomson, the craft coordinator at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust.
Fancy Stitch started in 2001 as an income-generation project but has since branched out and created a holiday club for the 46 children of former Fancy Stitch employees who died. “We have also started a water harvesting programme, where we install water tanks for our beneficiaries. Since 2007 we have installed 70 of them,” said Maryna Heese, director of Fancy Stitch.
The new botanical-themed range of products consists of wall plaques with dozens of unique floral designs and patterns, with prices ranging from R246 to R595. The Woza Moya Embo Craft store is open from 8am to 4pm from Monday to Friday and from 8am to 2pm on Saturdays.
