Able Stitch warms young hearts with hoodie handover at Soweto orphanage

In a heartwarming effort to keep young ones warm this winter, Able Stitch donated hoodies to orphans at the Othandweni Family Care Centre in Mofolo on June 27.

Able Stitch is an NPO that empowers communities through skill development. It focuses on upskilling vulnerable and unemployed individuals, with the goal of enabling them to make a positive impact on the lives of children in need.

Able Stitch managing director, Lizzy Strydom, said the mission for this project was to donate handcrafted hoodies tailored to each child’s size to help keep them warm during the cold season.

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“This project was inspired by my four-year-old daughter during one of our meetings.

“Today, we’re proud to have donated 80 hoodies to the children at Othandweni. It’s the second orphanage on our list, and we’re working our way toward our goal of clothing a thousand children,” she said.

She added that they are appealing to the community to support the initiative by donating R220. The cost to clothe one child. This amount covers the materials, hoodie production, and stipends for those involved in making them.

“We’re not only appealing to community members but also calling on businesses to get involved and adopt orphanages.

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“A donation of R17 600 can clothe an entire orphanage of 80 children. We still have several centres on our list, and we’re committed to reaching them all,” Strydom explained.

She also shared future plans for the initiative. Phase one focuses on empowering vulnerable individuals by teaching them sewing skills.

In phase two, the organisation hopes to partner with businesses such as hotels and restaurants to supply sewn products tailored to their specific needs.