After 10 years of cobbling shoes on the floor at the Highway taxi rank in Mdantsane, shoemaker Samkelo Dwabayo’s business has flourished.
This was after receiving funding from two state entities.
Dwabayo, 31, has found himself working from a R50,000 container funded by the National Youth Development Agency. It is fully furnished with machinery and an air conditioner to the value of R130,000, which was funded by Buffalo City Metro’s local economical development department.
“Previously, customers’ shoes would get spoilt by rain, but now I have a professional space with proper equipment, a cash register and a key-cutting machine among the services available,” he said.
The breadwinner for a family of six said poverty drove him to take up shoemaking , but now it has helped him create employment in the community and has enabled him to support his family.
“As a youngster I used to hang around Highway. A cousin of mine had a stall here and across the way was an elderly man, Bawo Bonisile Dontrag, who was a shoemaker.
“One day my cousin was helping him out when he had a customer came to his stall. I picked up the shoe and continued stitching it up. Jwarha, (Dontrag’s clan name), was so excited about the work I did in that short period that he encouraged me to learn more.
“I fell in love with what I could do with my hands and I just kept doing it and never looked back.”
Dontrag has since died.
Dwabayo said he had aspired to become a police officer.
“I always believed in education and I wanted to be a policeman, so I obtained my level 4 national certificate in vocational studies for safety in society at John Knox college, and even then I was still repairing shoes for taxi fare, lunch money and just to get by.”
He made several applications to join the SAPS.
“When I couldn’t get into the police academy, I eventually lost interest in that dream and focused on honing the skill I had, and I became passionate about it.”
Dwabayo said he had also received mentorship from the agencies, which have guided him in managing his finances and using the banking system...