Kwa-Thema – While the world is trying to combat the pandemic, local entrepreneur and artist Thamsanqa Nogaga has used the situation to create employment.
Using fabric offcuts he has added a range of masks to his Street Corner Academy apparel brand.
“When the country was forced into lockdown I became anxious because my wife was eight weeks pregnant at the time and we have a five-year-old son.
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“I stressed about paying rent, buying groceries and making certain that each of our needs were met,” he said.
The idea to start creating his own masks came after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced it was compulsory for people to wear masks.
“Everyone needed masks, so I thought why not give it a try.
“With the help of Jabulani Mbonani I was able to obtain a permit to start operating my business.
“To get the fabric we had to wait in a queue which took about two hours before we could get help, that’s how jam-packed the place was,” he explained.
His goal at the time, with the help of his wife, was to produce 10 000 masks.
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“It seemed impossible at the time, though the money was too good to miss out on this opportunity,
and we had to hire due to the demand.
“Sphiwe Ramakolane, Shiwe van Wyk and Eric Makofane availed themselves to assist us with production.
“The workload got so intense we needed more people to come join us.
“We ended up with a team of seven people in total, including myself and my wife.
“Employment in tough times was created by simple people who wanted survival and went out and
got it,” he added.
They now create clothes for other brands.
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