From Threads to Triumph: Siyakwazi’s Sewing Hub Upskills Families Through Creative Innovation
For many guardians and family members having a child with a disability often means becoming a full-time caregiver. This shift in responsibility can limit or entirely eliminate opportunities for work, making it difficult to support the household. With the mounting costs of raising a child with a disability, families are often at a loss about how to meet their day-to-day needs. This situation is a harsh reality faced by many families in KwaNzimakwe and KwaXolo, where we have been working and supporting children with disabilities since 2013.
Poverty and disability
The cycle between poverty and disability is profound and multi-faceted and often times can be difficult to break. Families raising children with disabilities face heightened financial burdens due to expenses related to specialised healthcare, therapies, and assistive devices. These costs can quickly deplete already limited resources, pushing families deeper into poverty. Moreover, caregivers often need to reduce their work hours or leave the workforce entirely to provide care, further diminishing household income.
In communities where resources are scarce and social safety nets are inadequate, the impact is compounded, perpetuating a cycle of economic vulnerability and exclusion for individuals with disabilities and their families. Addressing this cycle requires holistic approaches that not only provide financial support but also empower families through education, skills development, and inclusive community initiatives to break these cycles and foster sustainable livelihoods.
The neighbourhoods where we focus our outreach are amongst the poorest and most under-resourced in KwaZulu-Natal. The average annual household income is R14,600 (R1,200 a month), which is half the amount compared to the rest of the province. We are hopeful that the Sewing Hub will evolve into a practical, sustainable, and community-uplifting initiative; one which supports families within the project to access a basic income whilst addressing the realities of poverty.
Thready, steady, sew!
Siyakwazi’s Sewing Hub started in 2020, right in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, by manufacturing face masks from donated material for community members and our fieldworkers. Over the years, the Sewing Hub has also created a sustainable framework for the manufacture of much-needed therapy resources, sensory-laden tools, and interactive soft toys to support families of children with disabilities who are in need of such devices. This sustainable framework meets goals to support both children with disabilities and their families.
From skills workshops to a unique selling proposition
Initially, our desire was to boost the employability of families through skills-based workshops. However, we soon realised that we’ve found a unique proposition and selling point. Teaming up with consultant therapists and Ann Sanchez of Clothes to Good, we’ve built a catalogue of assistive devices, including weighted jackets, blankets, lap pads, soft splints, and sensory toys. These assistive devices and toys help children regulate their senses and prevent contractures for children with physical disabilities. The devices are used alongside children’s recommended therapy programme prescribed by Siyakwazi’s Therapy team.
Our therapy team has successfully used items made by the Sewing Hub since 2022, relying on the sewing team’s advanced tailoring techniques to personalise each device to the height, weight, and needs of children we support. This is why we believe, with the correct partners, funding, and network, we can begin to sell similar products to a wider marketplace to support children with disabilities across South Africa. Already, we have supported NPO friends of Siyakwazi by manufacturing items for their own outreach programmes and fundraising drives.
Weaving threads of progress
Today, we are actively upskilling people within our Sewing Hub initiative. From the early days of pattern-making to creating tailored assistive devices, the entrepreneurs of the Sewing Hub have fine tuned their skills. We have invited those who completed our ‘basic skills’ sewing course to return to learn more advanced techniques, providing plenty of opportunities to practise their seamstress abilities by repairing clothes for sale in our second-hand shop (yet another income-generating activity). Importantly quality control and excellence have been buzzwords around the sewing room since day one, and we are immensely proud of every stitch.
Aspirations for the future
As we look ahead, the focus will be on expanding the reach of our Sewing Hub, strengthening the network of guardians, and continuing to support children with disabilities through innovative and practical solutions. With the correct partners, funding, and network, we can achieve our vision of making a lasting impact on the lives of families in KwaNzimakwe and Kwaxolo.
“Our dreams for the Siyakwazi Sewing Hub are big. We see ourselves receiving orders through an online shop, one dedicated to selling our tailored resources for children with disabilities. We see more and more guardians joining our team and making an income for themselves. We see children, not only in our community but across South Africa, using our products with joy and proudly achieving milestones because of these valuable resources. Most importantly, we see guardians in this project as the heroes of their own stories, bravely starting something new and owning their success.”
– Philile Jula, Sewing Hub Manager & Siyakwazi Fieldworker
To those who have supported the Sewing Hub so far, thank you. If you would like to learn more about the Sewing Hub, its future, or how you can be involved, please get in touch. We need more partners as we grow!