By John Travolter Matali
TSUMEB – Theresa Salomo a mother of two boys and a daughter has empowered herself by making use of her God-given talent to earn an income.
Salomo who has transformed the veranda of her home into a one-person sewing centre has a diploma in tailoring from the Rössing Foundation that empowers people involved in income-generating projects.
She says her passion for sewing started early in life.
“I started taking an interest in tailoring and sewing when I was still at school. I love sewing – it is something that I truly enjoy doing,” enthused Salomo.
The mother of three said she can sew anything from an entire suit to ballroom costumes, matric dresses and Oshiwambo and Damara traditional dresses.
“I also do wedding and church choir gowns – anything is possible, even T-shirts,” added Salomo.
The self-employed mother decided to get the most out of her talent when she saw that formal employment was hard to come by.
“To put bread on the table and feed my family I opted to use my talent, which I cash in on instead of hiding my gift and ability,” she said.
Salomo reminisced that although business is not easy to come by in the small copper-mining town of Tsumeb, her biggest clients include churches who often ask her to sew choir gowns, as well as the parents of schoolchildren.
“Most parents find it easier and much cheaper to buy the material for school uniforms as opposed to going into the store for school uniforms. Sometimes business is slow with only a few people requesting that I resize their clothes for them,” said Salomo.
Despite all the setbacks Salomo’s big dream is to expand the business.
She says if the opportunity ever presented itself she would one day open her own sewing establishment, where she would not only sew clothes but also offer sewing classes to unemployed women.
Despite having the ability to sew an array of garments Salomo is not open to the idea of making ready-to-wear clothes.
“I do not sell ready-made outfits because in my experience this has proved itself to be a dead-end venture simply because many people may like your colours but not the ready-made outfit,” she said.
“It far better and cheaper for me to wait for clients to bring me their own material and design that they have planned, especially with the ever-changing fashion trends amongst the youth these days,” she added.