21 Today

 Today is Freedom Day in South Africa. It is the 21st anniversary of the very first Democratic elections held in this country in 1994 in which ALL citizens could vote, not just the white people. Sadly at the moment some South Africans have forgotten those other African countries who helped during the struggle for this freedom and our beautiful country has been racked with terrible Xenophobic attacks against black foreigners living and working here.

So I feel that today I want to focus on a Zulu lady, Duduzile, a security guard at a hospital, who in her spare time does beautiful traditional beading and who is using her talent and profits along with other  women to help teach unemployed and handicapped women how to bead and supplying them with the beads and tools to do this, in order to uplift her community.  The money to do this comes from the profit  she and others make from their sales.

 All Dudu's bead work is done by hand, she does not use a beading loom. She also asked not to have her photo taken when I told her it was going to be on the internet. She is too shy.
Bead work is a skill many women in Africa have as traditional clothing is often decorated with it.

Here are some traditional South African wedding dresses. All of the beadwork will have been done by hand. 

Here is some of Dudu's work, which I sell for her on Etsy.  The title photo is one of her bracelets which has already been sold.

Beaded necklace 

Beaded collar necklace

plastic beaded handbag

seed bead mens tie

beaded trim for the base a shirt or skirt or even the waist band 

Black and white beaded necklace and bracelet set

 Duduzile mean console- I pray that those who have lost loved ones in all the violence affecting Africa find consolation and peace.

I send condolences also to the people of Napal after their devestating earthquakes this last week.