Mossel Bay, 4 February 2019 – Clover Mama Afrika, Clover’s CSI project, kicked the year off on a high note by hosting mamas from across the country at its annual Smarties week, which took place at the Diaz Hotel and Resort in Mossel Bay.
Smarties week is a wonderful opportunity for the mamas to look back and reflect on the previous year, engage with other mamas and share ideas on what they can do better in their communities to receive better results. The week also allows the mamas to provide feedback to Clover Mama Afrika on what their challenges and achievements were for the previous year.
Clover Mama Afrika as a project, assists ‘mamas’ across South Africa with essential skills and training courses, which see them develop skills that can both be used to better the community centres they run, as well as be transferred to other community members. This ‘teach a woman to fish’ philosophy is the reason this project is so highly awarded and successful. This year’s aptly named Smarties Week, was full of skills training workshops that taught the mamas new skills to take back to their respective communities.
The training workshops started with a mosaic workshop where mamas honed their decorative skills, followed by Sri Lanka quilting with Mariëtha van der Merwe, a skill vital to those mamas who create and sell their masterpieces. The following day was spent with Siyabonga Africa, where mamas flexed their baking muscles. Other workshops during the week included a creative arts course led by Ezette van der Merwe, as well as a flower arranging a workshop with Gerda Tuffin.
Last year the mamas completed a dressmaking course with Bernina. The purpose of the course was to unleash the creativity within the mamas, allowing them to use different fabrics such as chiffon and Shwe-Shwe. The mamas had the opportunity to reveal their creations at the Smarties Week Gala evening, which wowed the room full of people. Mama Phumelele Mtshali was crowned the dress designer winner for her beautifully designed dress.
This year’s Smarties week was themed #IAmEnough, which is the belief that one person’s actions can change the course of an entire community, which is exactly what Clover Mama Afrika stands for. At the Gala evening, the top performing mamas were recognised for the amazing work that they do in their respective communities. The below mamas were recognised.
TOP ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR: Mama Shirley Merime
Mama Shirley Merime from Ennerdale, outside Johannesburg, received the Top Achiever of the Year Award for her continued dedication and positive attitude as well as her eagerness to meet her communities’ needs. She has also managed to meet the objectives of the project and increased her business revenue by 15%.
PERFORMER EXTRAORDINAIRE: Mama Nondumiso Mpitimpiti
Mama Nondumiso from Amalinda Forest, Eastern Cape walked away with the Performer Extraordinaire Award. She received this award for reaching all her goals and exceeding all expectations. Not only did she double her income but she has also managed to provide employment to over 15 people in her community.
BUSINESS MAMA OF THE YEAR: Mama Mirriam Makamu
Mama Mirriam from Tembisa, Gauteng claimed the Business Mama of the Year award for her excellent business management skills with her bakery. She has also improved her profits by 20% over the last year and now provides employment to over 41 members.
MOST IMPROVED: Mama Dorah Semenya
Mama Dorah Semenya from Seshego in Limpopo was announced as the most improved Mama. She has managed to increased her income by 52% and continuous to show growth.
CLEANLINESS & HYGIENE AWARD
The Top Cleanliness & Hygiene Award went to four deserving mamas who scored high in the hygiene and cleanliness assessments. These mamas are Mamas Dorah Semenya, Mama Doris Ndingane, Mama Glenrose Mashiqa and Mama Selestien Moses.
ULTIMATE CLEANLINESS & HYGIENE: Mama Phomolo Raisa & Mama Sipiwe Solomons
The Ultimate cleanliness and hygiene Award was shared between Mama Phomolo Raisa of Botshabelo, Free State and Mama Sipiwe Solomons from Hazyview, Mpumalanga for continuously maintaining a solid infrastructure within their respective centres to ensure a healthy and safe environment for all members in their care and in the community. Their prize was handed over by Mariette Myburgh of MiX Telematics. Their prize will benefit Mamas Phomolo and Sipiwe with added value on-site catering training during Madiba Week in 2019.
EQSTRA’S DISTINCTION: Mama Selestien Moses
The Eqstra’s Distinction Award went to Mama Selestien Moses, through this award she will receive the necessary support to ensure that her centre grows.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Mama Felicity Maluleke
Mama Felicity Maluleke received the Special Recognition Award for her neatness and precision in her sewing, quilting and mosaic work.
Prof Elain Vlok, Founder of the project says, “Failure would never overtake these women because their determination to succeed is too strong. I am extremely proud of all the mamas because they are the change we want to see in the world.
About Clover Mama Afrika
Clover Mama Afrika is a sustainable Corporate Social Investment project that has been in existence since 2004. Over the years the project has hosted 353 training sessions with over 2066 beneficiaries. Teaching and guiding strong females (lovingly called ‘Mamas’ due to their standing in their neighbourhoods) in communities all over the country, in order to build their skills and sustain and improve their own community projects. Only the most committed are enrolled and these include women looking after orphans, the elderly and those suffering from HIV/Aids.
