21 May 2017

Ms Segomotso Kanyama swears by the notion when life kicks you, do not give up, rather pick yourself up and continue with your journey.

The 60 year-old Serowe sun hat designer did not allow life’s challenges to get the better of her but instead, turned those challenges into opportunities.

Born and bred in Serowe’s Morwakwena ward, Ms Kanyama did not go far with education and landed a job at a tree nursery in Palapye to make ends meet.

In 1996 she was involved in a car accident that forced her to quit her job. Since she was used to working, staying home became unbearable.

An idea hit her in 2015 when she saw an old sun hat she bought for her mother that she got an empty box of milk and decided to try her luck at designing a cap.

“My mother saw it and was impressed but I didn’t take the idea seriously as the old woman was unwell. I concentrated on improving her health than making hats,” she said.

Months later, she lost her mother and needed time to mourn her but upon realising the void her mother had left in her life, she knew she had to think of something to keep her mind busy.

Hat designing idea was revived and she started collecting empty boxes of juice and milk with the aim of starting a business.

In that same year in August she registered with Gender Affairs department programme which supports women in handiwork.

It emerged the gods were on her side as she ended up among those selected to showcase their creations at a fair in Francistown.

She rose to the occasion as she eclipsed the rest to first position in the craft category and bagged a whooping P6 000, which she invested in her promising business and bought a sowing machine.

Ms Kanyama is optimistic that gender affairs having seen the viability of her business will aid her.

The single mother of four, said her products were appealing to both the young and old noting that children’s caps sold faster.

The upcoming entrepreneur said she trusted that platforms such as LEA flea market days were worthy for networking, especially for her as she did not have a place where she operated.

“My desire is to have a stall to be more accessible because people do not take you seriously when you operate from your house.”

She said she had also seen the importance of registering her business and wanted to extend her market and cater for schools and social events such as weddings among others.

She said she wanted to learn more on improving the quality of her product because hats and caps were not meant to be washed but to be wiped and said she wanted to research more on the ideal material to use to join the pieces.

Most of her products cost P30 and the proceeds help put food on the table.

This year, she would be competing in the President’s Day Arts Competitions and given the uniqueness of her products, the sky is the limit. ENDS