Uplifting and Empowering

Stephen Smith pays the inspi rin g Emboc raft Trainin g Cent re Trust a visit .

Many of us know the Embocraft Training Centre Trust in Bothas Hill for its little craft shop, a joint project run with Woza Moya, filled to the brim with colourful and beautiful handmade arts and crafts. Or, driving past, we have spotted the eccentric animal statues in the garden, or the huge elephant mural on the wall. Some of us may also have noticed the “Training Centre” in the name, or the “courses offered” on signs. And that is the real purpose of Embo: to train and uplift members of the local community and give them a chance at meaningful income generation.

The courses offered are fairly diverse, but all have one thing in common – they’re practical and they can assist the people who complete them to make a living. There are two sewing courses: basic and advanced, a comprehensive welding course, a woodworking course, craft and fabric painting courses and a computer course.

I’m sure many of you are thinking exactly the same thing as me right now… I want to do a course! But Embo serves a very singular purpose – upliftment. As such, they will only accept people on their courses if they are unemployed and looking for a way to support themselves and their family. There is a registration cost of R250 per student, but otherwise the courses cost nothing – which is incredible considering the infrastructure needed to run them, and the materials used every day.

What impressed me most about my time at Embo was that the support doesn’t end when a student has finished their course. If you pop your head into one of the containers on the property, there’s a good chance that

you might see Simphiwe Sithole at work on one of the industrial sewing machines or overlockers. A former student who completed the beginners and advanced sewing courses in 2013, Simphiwe is now a remarkably skilled tailor who does alterations or makes custom clothing from scratch, and Embo allow him to use their machines when courses aren’t being run. “I always liked sewing,” says Simphiwe, “and now I can support myself doing it.” He proudly shows me photographs of happy customers modelling their beautiful completed garments.

It’s a feel-good place, Embo. It’s a place where initiative is rewarded and where real change happens. So the next time you drive past, pop in and support the shop. Or even better, see if there isn’t a way that you can support the training centre itself, so that it can continue to upskill people and change our community one graduate at a time. For more information visit www.embocraft.co.za; email them on embocraft@telkomsa.net or call them on 031 765 3697. You can also find them on Facebook: embocrafttrainingcentre or call Simpiwe on 078 161 0106 or 065 995 0955 Picture: Stephen Smith