Siyakwazi’s ‘Learn through Play’ Bags
Following the Mather-Pike Bermuda Family Holiday in July this year, our director, Cathy returned to base with an awesome idea for a fundraising initiative that her sister-in-law Shirene Fulton had instigated. Fast track to October and we can happily say that Siyakwazi has successfully pioneered, in partnership with some awesome members of the community, its ‘Learn through Play’ Bag campaign.
Cathy, Shirene and Carly who worked together to make this project a reality share info about this project, its message and how one can get involved.
What is the campaign about?
This campaign is ‘lots of birds, one stone’ scenario. Its main purpose is to raise funds and awareness for Siykawazi at an international level, by creating something that is functional and stylish and can be used every day. In addition, the bags are a proudly produced in SA product, by Neli and her team at Africa!Ignite, a local community based organisation, who are in charge of sewing and screen-printing the final product.
What is the message of the campaign?
At Siyakwazi we believe that play enables any young child to learn in small attainable steps in a fun and holistic way. In other words, play enables all children to grow as a whole, cognitively, creatively, physically, socially and emotionally. What better way than to convey this message on something that will be carried around and be seen by so many people.
Through the campaign we hope to share our story with people cross culturally and cross continentally, to inspire hope, to challenge mindsets, to start conversations about basic child development and the barriers faced by children with special education needs in our rural communities.
What is the distribution plan for the bags?
The project has linked up with an international design company who are passionately supportive of Non-Profit Organisations, like ourselves and have partnered with us since inception. They are based in Bermuda, where the initial range will be launched, and then later our beautiful bags, will be sold in the USA and UK.
We are also partnering with Neli, who is part of a joint venture business Africa!Ignite, to have the bags sold locally, including Neli’s WowZulu store.
A big Thank You to Carly for her valuable input in the bag design and sourcing of fabric, to Neli and her team for making these beautiful bags come to life with their expert sewing skills and of course to Shirene, our international arm for her pursuit of getting Siyakwazi’s name to an international awareness.
This project is an awesome celebration of teamwork, the power of what can be done via a Whatsapp group and why there is hope in making a difference!