Handmade treasures
Wendy Meintjes is eMalahleni local who is the local driving force behind a national innovative project, that aims to empower and provide for orphaned and victimised children in the community.
She works for Re-action which is an international non profit organisation. Wendy has been working on the Abanqobi project for the last several years.
‘Growing vulnerable individuals into valuable communities’ is the project’s vision. Wendy says that the children in the programme are taught various skills such as sewing and other crafts. They have three hubs were they work from in Phola, Klarinet and KwaGukwa.
“This is to encourage OVC to reach their potential and improve school performance and attendance by identifying and meeting some needs related to schooling through income generation activities,” explained Wendy.
The bags and crafts are sold to produce an income that is used to meet some of those needs such as buying school uniforms and other essentials.
The project has also set its sight on a few long term goals. Ultimately this project can equip these youngsters to become future entrepreneurs by applying valuable skills like profit and loss, quality improvement, and personal goal setting.
For Wendy it has been a true experience working with the children and doing her part in the project. Among her many responsibilities she buys the materials needed for the crafts. She has been with Re-action since 2009 making a difference in eMalahleni.
Recently she was at Witbank4Jesus where she sold all the amazing handy work made by the children such as bags jewellery and key rings. They are accepting orders for Mandela Day, themed bags and key rings. If you would like to get involved please contact her on abanqobi@re-action.co.za. They are looking for people to becoming Ambassadors for Dignity and help raise awareness for the project as well as the support from local businesses.
