Meet the Crafters
There are currently around 300 men and women involved in the Little Travellers project. Here are some of their stories:
Gogo Francisca
Francisca Mbele is a 73 year old granny who makes Little Traveller dolls. Of ten children she raised to adulthood, all but one have passed away, and she now cares for her five grandchildren, ranging from 6 to 20 yrs in age.
Francisca (who is affectionately known as “Gogo”, a Zulu word for “Granny”) has been beading for six years, having learned at the Hillcrest Aids Centre. She initially came to the centre when one of her granddaughters fell very ill. She explains, “Paula [the director of Woza Moya income-generation project] taught me how to bead. So I’m happy. I didn’t do beading before, but now I’m clever. Jill (of Woza Moya) gave me glasses and now I can do it fast.” In fact, Gogo says that if someone brings her tea to her, she can make up to 20 Little Travellers in one day.
Gogo is very happy to be part of the beading project at the Hillcrest Aids Centre. She describes her poverty before she started beading: “Before, I hadn’t got even shoes. Nothing before. I was too frightened to go outside. I was afraid people were going to laugh. I had nothing. Nothing to eat, no clothes.” By making Little Travellers, Gogo now earns approximately R300-400 (~$60 Cdn) per week, and she uses it to buy food and blankets. When asked what the Little Travellers mean to her, Gogo responds, “They mean that God helps me. God helps me to do these dollies. He looks after me.”
In addition to participating in the income-generation projects, Gogo receives a weekly food parcel from the AIDS Centre. Her gratitude in spite of all her hardships is inspiring. “I’m happy! I’m too happy!” she exclaims joyfully.
By purchasing Little Travellers, you are supporting people like Francisca and her family. In addition, all further proceeds help the Hillcrest Aids Centre to provide “unconditional love to all those affected by HIV/AIDS in a practical way”.
Cebisile Buthelezi is a beader and creator of Little Traveller dolls at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust. She is 38 years old, and cares for her twenty-five year old daughter and twelve year old nephew, who was left in Cebisile’s care when her brother passed away.
Cebisile has been beading for two years, and been making Little Travellers for one year. She can make a Little Traveller in 20-30 minutes, and makes around five in a day. Since Cebisile doesn’t have a job, she sees the Little Travellers as representing her hope to get money to buy necessary things. She also thinks of the Little Travellers as a hobby that allows her to make something that symbolises HIV/AIDS.
Cebisile says that being involved in the beading project at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre has lessened her financial difficulties and enabled her to live positively by working alongside women who understand the problems she faces. She says that she earns between R80-200 per week by making Little Travellers, and she has been able to use this money to pay for food and other household goods, as well as to send her nephew to school.
Cebisile would like to one day become a home-based carer for the Hillcrest AIDS Centre. When asked what she does for fun, Cebisile smiles and responds, “making Little Travellers”!
Thobile
Thobile is a 43 year old woman who beads as part of the Woza Moya income generation project at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre. She has two daughters, aged 24 and16 years, and she helps care for three grandchildren, of the ages 8, 5 and 2 years. She came to care for the grandchildren when her eldest daughter’s boyfriend passed away. The other grandchildren’s fathers aren’t around either so she cares for them as well.
In 2005, Thobile came to the Hillcrest AIDS Centre because she was very sick (she says that she almost died). There, she met beaders who taught her to bead. Since she started beading, she has been making Little Travellers. She can make a Little Traveller in 30 minutes – hers are beautiful ballerinas.
To Thobile, making Little Travellers is especially meaningful because it makes her feel that she is the creator of beautiful things. Sometimes she thinks of the Little Travellers as living humans that she is able to bring to life.
Thobile says that beading has brought the biggest changes in her life because she lost her job when she fell ill. The money from beading gives her an income and has given her her life back. She’s now able to do things that she couldn’t do before. Thobile depends greatly on Little Traveller orders for her income so she can meet all the expenses for that month. Because of the dolls, she is able to pay school fees for her grandchildren.
On average, beading has brought Thobile R300 (~$50 CDN) per week; most of this is from making Little Travellers which are then sold around the world. In fact, she was recently able to build another room in her house, and put cupboards in the kitchen!
For fun, Thobile likes to do what she does best: dancing!
Agnes Msomi is a sixty-two year old gogo who makes Little Travellers at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust. Agnes has seven children and she cares for six grandchildren, left to her when her daughter died of AIDS.
Agnes has been beading and making Little Travellers for five months, and she enjoys it because it enables her to earn an income to support her family. Agnes says that the dolls have brought her approximately R300 per week, and in addition to that, she says that it is relaxing and fun!
Ntombi
Ntombi Dlamini is a vivacious thirty-nine year old woman who is involved in the beading projects and is a home-based carer at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust. She has two daughters, one of whom is twenty-four and the other thirteen years of age, and one granddaughter, who is eight. Ntombi also lives with her sister, and her sister’s daughter and granddaughter.
Ntombi has been a volunteer home-based carer for seven years, and she cares or six clients in the community. She says that the job is emotionally draining, as she often finds that her clients’ situations are heart breaking. Ntombi says that she copes by bracing herself emotionally before visiting the homes.
Ntombi has been beading since 1999, when she learned at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre. She says that she has been making Little Traveller dolls “since the beginning”. In fact, Ntombi created the first Little Travellers to have long hair! Nowadays, she specializes in the large dolls that adorn Little Traveller displays in Canada and elsewhere.
Ntombi says that when she sees a Little Traveller, she sees a person. She goes on to explain that this is why she makes them beautiful – because she is creating a human being! Ntombi says that after making Little Travellers, she often lays them on her sofa and admires them for a while.
Ntombi has never been formally employed, so being involved in the Hillcrest AIDS Centre’s beading project has really made a big difference in her life. She says that she can’t even imagine her life without beading. In particular, she is grateful for the Little Traveller dolls, which earn her between R80 and R300 per week ($15-$60 Cdn), depending on the orders. Ntombi explains that her “entire house has come from the Little Travellers” her fridge, her sofa, the plaster on her walls, EVERYTHING! It is no wonder that Ntombi admires the Little Travellers so much, and she grins from ear to ear when told about how these beautiful dolls that she helped develop have brought joy to people around the world.