Hope Community Skills Centre and Manufacturing Plant in Mitchells Plain aims to change lives
|Published
Suraya Williams is determined to make a difference in the lives of young girls. Picture: Supplied
After finding that young matric girls she made dresses for were struggling to further their studies or find employment, Suraya Williams used her dressmaking skills to make a difference.
“I would follow up on them after matric results were released. I learnt that most of these young girls did not have the financial resources to further their studies, could not find employment due to a lack of skills, and in the saddest cases were affected by teenage pregnancies even before reaching matric.”
Williams is the owner of the clothing brand Design26 and founder of the Design26 Foundation. She started the foundation in 2018, after providing young girls with a professional service of custom-made matric ball dresses.
A determined Williams decided to start the foundation to provide young women with an opportunity to gain a skill at no cost, to create meaningful employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
The foundation recently launched the “buy a brick” campaign in the hopes of building a Hope Community Skills Centre and Manufacturing Plant.
“After securing viable land from the City of Cape Town, we are raising funds to develop the land into the first Sewing Skills Training Centre in Mitchells Plain.”
The property is approximately 1 647m² and will include classrooms, an entrepreneurship/business management hub, manufacturing hub, ECD-Centre, store for entrepreneurs to test the market as well as a professional photography studio.
All these rooms will accommodate a total of 85 learners over a three-month period which will commence three times a year, totalling 255 youth being skilled and becoming financially self-sustaining every year.
“I am determined to make a difference in the lives of young girls in my community, and to leave a legacy of hope for generations to come”, said Williams.
Sadé Daries joined Design26 in 2022, and said she had learned many valuable things.
“I'm grateful Suraya gave me this opportunity since I gained more confidence in my sewing. Besides being able to fully construct any garment, with continuous guidance I also gained an understanding of what it truly means to work together as a team, and the hard work it takes to run a business in this competitive industry.”
Raabiah Jacobs joined the foundation in 2021 and started working for it a year later.
“When I stepped into Design 26 foundation for the very first time the environment and dynamic was not typical; it felt like a safe space and sisterhood. Everything about it felt right, and to date has been one of the best decisions I've made.”
Anyone interested in supporting the foundation can go to their the back-a-buddy website and make a donation, or make contact with them via email at info@design26foundation.
Weekend Argus