30th June 2010 (0 Comments)

Plush dolls & accessories

Soweto

Founded 2006

www.shweshwepoppis.com

More about Shwe Shwe Poppis

Shwe Shwe Poppis are living stories of hope from the Zola crèche in Soweto.

These charming and imaginative fantasy figures are based on a series of original children’s drawings produced by

thekids at the African Children’s Feeding Scheme’s Malnutrition and Rehabilitation Crèche in Zola, Soweto. Lovingly hand-sewn by women from the community and inspired by stories from South African culture, these quirky, unique and sought-after creations are providing sustainable employment, educational opportunities and a sense of pride and purpose for many deserving men, women and kids from Soweto.

In addition to the crafts made by Shwe Shwe Poppis, they have also set up an educational fund for the underprivileged kids in Soweto, and donate funds to the African Child Feeding Scheme (NGO).

How it all started…

“The people that works for Shwe Shwe Poppis where receiving food parcels from an NGO called African Child Feeding Scheme (ACFS) and we saw a gap… to build self confidence, people must do something and get paid for doing that, hand-outs just kills their confidence. So it was to empower the community.”

Check out their cool website for the full story on how they got started…

Vision

“The Shwe Shwe Poppis project has a vision of spreading the joy of the Shwe Shwe Poppis Family to all corners of the globe! In so doing, we hope to create even more sustainable employment opportunities within the communities in which we operate, and have a positive impact on as many lives as possible.”

Achievements

In November 2006, the Shwe-Shwe Poppis Trust was established, with the primary aim of ensuring that the main profits from this exciting venture stay where it started – with the children and people of Soweto, safeguarding their future. To this end, a percentage of all profits goes towards an Educational Fund administered by the Trust, which aims to support talented and promising young boys and girls from Soweto to further their studies.
Recently, the project was bolstered by the donation from the ComMark Trust of funding to purchase our very own house in Zola, Soweto, which we proudly moved into in April 2009!
Selected for the mentorship program hosted provided by the BASA (Business Association Of South Africa).
Appeared on CNN
Featured in international publications Vogue & Cosmopolitain.
Featured locally in Sawubona Magazine, Saturday Star, and Citizen News Paper.

Help needed

This gives you an idea of the specific areas that Shwe Shwe Poppis would appreciate assistance; however, if you’d like to collaborate or help them out in any other way at all, all input is greatly appreciated.