A 21 years old Lebo Monama AKA Blueberry from Kingsway in Benoni, did not let her odds define her destiny as she is fighting tooth and nail, to make a difference with her clothing brand ‘Isphithiphithi.’“The name of my company is ‘ISPHITHIPHITHI WEARS’, I am selling clothing called ‘ISPHITHIPHITHI’ as a face of the business,” Says Lebo. The company also does printing and branding, it was established in 2017 when Lebo was only 17 years old and legally registered a year after she matriculated in 2018.“The business today has been running for 4 years with over 4000 items of our brand in the streets,” She said.Lebo started her business in her household with fewer resources but lately the business is booming because of her dedication and consistence.
“It’s successfully growing and it all started inside my bedroom using plastic bags as a storage for my stock but today I have a pop up shop outside my yard,” Lebo said.ISPHITHIPHITHI has brought hope to some of Lebo’s peers as it creates employment which can be very rare in the townships. Lebo through the brand managed to create jobs for two people. “A print designer Flaba and an assistant of the business Nokhanya and I collected a team of artists and creatives in my community to collaborate with them to increase the number of my crew, as leader,” She said.Despite losing a father at a very young age and growing up in a small unnoticed township, Lebo didn’t have time to find another man to fill the void her father left in her heart. Instead she grew stronger and braver at heart to face whatever obstacles life threw her way. “I never got a chance of being raised by the hand of a man because an accident happened when I was only 6 years old doing grade 2, I lost my father on his way back home he got a car accident,” Lebo explained.Being raised by a single mother made Lebo see her mother as a strong woman who played a critical role in her life and motivated her to be where she is today.
BY THABANG RAMMUTLA
