Twenty of our members are attending a computer course with The Clothing Bank at their Cape Town Branch. It takes place over 2 months with 1 session per week (9 sessions in total). The training covers all aspects of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Outlook) and Digital Marketing which entails Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
Six months before the Computer Course was due to start with the Clothing Bank, YWC management sent out a message to all seamstresses asking who would be interested in attending it. Shamiela Brophy, age 66, jumped at the opportunity knowing she needed to up her game and become more familiar with all the new features on the computer and this in turn would help save time in the future when working on a day to day basis in her own sewing business.
Shamiela was working at the Bernina shop in Claremont, a southern suburb in Cape Town, when she met Mila, as a customer, in 2019 and they struck up a relationship that has grown into a warm and friendly one. Just before the end of February 2020 Shamiela lost her job at Bernina, but thankfully Mila made contact with her in March to help with the making of the face masks that were so desperately needed for the Health Care Workers and this too was exactly what Shamiela needed to supplement her income. Since then she has been happily involved with the organisation.
This computer training was possible due to the collaboration work between YWC and The Clothing Bank, whereby they offered our ladies free classes which we are hugely grateful for. The value of this course per person is between R 3500 and R 5000. Each seamstress was allowed to bring along a family member or a friend of their choice, which has created a stronger bond between family members learning a new skill together – such a beautiful sight to see! Shamiela bought her 23 year old son, Abdul, along with her. Both have learnt so much more than they had imagined!
We are realising the impact the digital world is having on our ability to sell our businesses, products and services online especially during Covid. The course has created great excitement for some as they have never used or touched a laptop in their lives before. It is paramount to Yes We Can to have a culture of learning and to teach ourselves new skills as often as possible. It also helps with future prospects when heading into the job market and applying for a position within a company, updating ones CV and a host of other things. Digital literacy is a must nowadays.
Yes We Can South Africa Foundation, once again, feels blessed to have been chosen as the first organisation to receive this training from The Clothing Bank, in Cape Town. We thank everyone involved for this huge opportunity!
We must salute this lovely lady as Shamiela is writing her Matric, at the age of 55, almost 40 years after leaving school! It takes a lot of courage to learn new things especially after a certain age and Shamiela is an inspiration to us all!
With the course and completing her studies she says “I am more excited about the future and have become quite an entrepreneur. I am making clothes for my family, friends and neighbours which in itself turned into a small home business. I also help out sewing with the other YWC ladies when needed and I appreciate it very much”, celebrates Shamiela.
Shamiela also goes onto say “Yes We Can South Africa Foundation has been such a blessing in our lives and we appreciate all that it is doing to help uplift the poorer communities. The team has so much energy and a lot of love to give!”
* Classes are suspended during Level 4
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