Ponani Shikweni and Grace Chauke (green cap) sew masks. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)
Out of hard lockdown, a business was born in Alexandra that is helping 25 people put food on the table for their families.
Grace Mabuya worked at a stationery shop but lost her job shortly after the lockdown began. Like thousands of other South Africans, she fell victim to the pandemic — not from a health perspective, but financially.
“I was worried. My husband is unemployed. We have two kids. We did not know where we were going to get food,” Mabuya said.
But despite the unemployment figures soaring in the country, Mabuya found work at a mask-making factory right on her doorstep in Eastbank in Alexandra, Johannesburg.
“Now that I have a job, I am able to help out in the house. It is winter, I am able to buy warm clothing for my children and also put food on the table.”
Ponani Shikwene, 32, is an entrepreneur who sold blankets before the lockdown. She had an established business, supplying the Netcare group with pillowcases and going door to door selling blankets.
The hard lockdown effected by President Cyril Ramaphosa in March saw Shikwene’s business dwindle, but she saw an opportunity to help herself, others, and help flatten the Covid-19 infection curve.
“After the president announced the lockdown, I thought about the vulnerable people in the community. I thought about those without masks. They need to protect themselves. When you wear masks, you protect me and I protect you from this corona. I later found out about a few ladies that lost their jobs because of the lockdown. I was sad,” Shikwene said.
Shikwene assembled a team of 25 people to work from her home. They were given hands-on training, from the correct handling of scissors to the cutting of fabrics — and also on the use of sewing machines.
Today, working in shifts of two teams, they produce between 1,000 and 1,500 masks a day, working only when there are orders.
Paulos Komane, 28, who was unemployed before he began working for Shikwene said:
“I sat around doing nothing. It was frustrating, I was struggling to buy food and clothing. Now I am able to provide myself with what I need in order to survive. I feel good to be here. I am happy that I am working and I am happy that I am able to also help society by making these masks and protect our fellow South Africans.” DM
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