Mama Emily a shining light
The project is based on a simple concept – to empower community caregivers with viable skills, which they in turn pass on to others to earn a sustainable income for the community.
Mama Emily Duda has been working at Garden World Centre in Muldersdrift since the 1990s. She also is one of the shining entrepreneurs in the Clover Mama Afrika project.
Last week she received one of the special recognition awards for The Most Improved Entrepreneurial Mamas in the project.
The project is based on a simple concept – to empower community caregivers with viable skills, which they in turn pass on to others to earn a sustainable income for the community. All of this is done while caring for society’s most vulnerable members, such as orphaned and abused children and neglected senior citizens. Currently, 35 extraordinary Clover Mamas collectively look after more than 12 800 abused, abandoned, orphaned and HIV/Aids infected or affected children, as well as more than 3 500 senior citizens in 35 geographical regions throughout South Africa.
From a modest start, Mama Emily now employs three people and heads up the Clover Mama Afrika Bakes initiative at Garden World. With the support of Garden World’s owners Jan de Waal and John Mundell, she produces a variety of delicious breads and bakes for Garden World customers and the surrounding communities.
The project at Garden World is significant in that it is Clover Mama Afrika’s first Enterprise Development project and Emily is completely dedicated to taking her baking business to new heights with her team.
In order to spearhead the growth of the business, Mama Emily met the members of General Manager’s Forum in Muldersdrift this week to promote her wares. The various hotel managers welcomed the initiative and the opportunity to support such a worthwhile cause.
Speaking on behalf of tourism owners for the Muldersdrift Communication Action Group, Gilbert Hickman concluded, “Developing entrepreneurs and creating job opportunities are some of the core challenges facing our country. We applaud Clover, Garden World and Mama Emily on this project. We look forward to supporting her and helping to grow her enterprise.”
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