MONGIWE Moyo (26) from Ntabazinduna, despite being hearing and speech impaired, hasn’t let communication barriers hold her back from engaging with her community. In fact, these challenges have turned into a strength, inspiring her to develop her skills in crafting beautiful objects using yarn. Moyo honed this craft by watching instructional videos on YouTube.
From yarn, she creates mats, keyholders, and handbags. She was drawn to yarn because of its affordability and because it’s an uncommon material for crafting. Moyo’s educational background is impressive.
At King George Memorial School in Bulawayo, she studied Bookkeeping, Business English, Business Calculations, Basic Cosmetology, Ornamental Horticulture, and Food Preparation under the Higher Education Examination Council (HEXCO). She also completed Art courses at Ordinary Level through the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec). Moyo credits her art education with giving her the skills she uses to design her handcrafted products.
“Spending my time at home without interacting much with my peers because of communication barriers gave me the idea to learn a skill. I knew how to plait people’s hair so that made it easier for me to learn handicraft. I came across a video on YouTube on how to make mats using yarn.
I watched several videos until I mastered the skills and then I started making the mats. I then went on to make handbags and keyholders as well. At first I was doing it to while up time and then I lat.