SOUTH AFRICA: Poor South African grandmothers profit from selling home-made scarves and beanies to soccer fans during World Cup

Record ID: 455623

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: Poor South African grandmothers profit from selling home-made scarves and beanies to soccer fans during World Cup
  • Date: 29th July 2010
  • Summary: SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA (RECENT - JULY 7, 2010) (REUTERS) WIDE OF GRANNIES AND LADIES SEATED IN A CIRCLE AND KNITTING AND SINGING
  • Embargoed: 13th August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Employment,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA3W9B3TBL2UJL1G0PNTC30YDFP
  • Story Text: Passing the time laughing and telling stories seems like a great way to make a living. For grandmothers in Thembisa township in South Africa, it's what they do all day as they sit in their knitting circles making colourful scarfs and hats for sale.
    A local project called Gogo Magic employs them, along with some younger women, and teaches them how to knit.
    'Gogo' means grandmother in Zulu. The Gogo Magic project aims to create sustainable income for the poor.
    Successful sales came with the World Cup, with over 20,000 hats and scarfs sold, each for 50 and 100 U.S. dollars respectively.
    The group's founder, Mike Walker says it has grown to be the biggest knitting circle in Africa.
    "We obviously had a huge surge of interest for our products during the World Cup but our trick really is to take it beyond the World Cup and get people involved in other countries. So, it's sustainable. We want to grow and the trick in growing is getting more people interested in what we do," said Walker, who started the group three years ago after his grandmother knitted him a hat that he loved.
    The project has about 540 members and has spread across townships in South Africa.
    Unemployment rates are high in Thembisa township, and many other townships across the country, as young people often depend on the elderly because their parents do not have a steady income.
    The government gives monthly pensions of about 160 U.S. dollars to citizens over 60 years old, but it is not enough for the grannies to take care of their extended families.
    Sibongile Dube, 36, is a single mother who says the project has changed her life.
    "I do tell some of the ladies my age to join the knitting grannies but they say knitting is for grannies and that they don't want to have crooked hands but I advise them that they must do whatever it takes to put bread on the table," said Dube, who has been welcomed in the circle like a daughter, despite not being a grandmother.
    Dube has been able to support her family from the money earned from knitting.
    Victoria Maseko, 87, is another member - one of 60 women in Soweto knitting circle.
    She takes care of her orphaned grandchildren and supplements her pension with the income from knitting.
    After the World Cup's sales, Maseko is still enjoying the profits and the satisfaction of marketing her country.
    "It shows you that you belong in Africa, an African flag, it's an African flag that Tata Mandela went to fight for. This is our victory. So, we would like to make more of them so that people can be proud of our land," she said, holding a red, green, black and gold scarf.
    The ladies have also been tasked to make nearly 2,000 Christmas stockings that will sell for about 15 U.S. dollars each.
    Walker is exploring possibilities of selling the popular scarfs and hats overseas and to local South African retail outlets like Woolworths.
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