My name is Deborah Ann Atkin. I was born in Germiston and lived most of my life in and around Alberton or the East Rand of Gauteng. I am the mother of two boys, Lynton and Garret both of whom are studying and working overseas. I relocated to New Zealand about ten years ago and am a citizen of both South Africa and New Zealand.

My family settled in New Zealand and we had a wonderful peaceful life, but I always longed to come home. I spent many hours commuting between the two countries, working in both. I returned to the country of my birth some two years ago because I believed I could help make a difference in a small way to the problems assailing our country.

I studied pattern making and design at the Auckland College of Design. It is with this skill and (dare I say it) talent, that I came home believing it to be a tool to help make a difference. South Africa has always had a flourishing clothing industry, so I wanted to use those skills in developing a clothing range.

When I arrived back I was introduced to a friend who was involved in community development. It was there that I became aware of the plight of so many people who were mostly living on, or below, the poverty line. My heart was so touched by the poverty and hopelessness some of the people displayed that I resolved there and then to do something tangible, but what?

The helplessness of the youth in the communities that I was exposed to clearly highlighted the difference between the opportunities that my own sons had had and those of the young people I saw.

I have always believed where there is faith there is a door about to open. I wanted to help open doors for some of these youngsters and needed to find a way of doing so. I had no network and very little to offer except a deep compassion and love of people. Everyday brought a new struggle and a few more people that needed help. It’s amazing how the word spreads on the ground. Once that started there was no turning back. It was sink or swim!

As a practicing Christian with a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ, I found an answer to my prayers. I had been involved with a former colleague, in developing beautiful art pieces for some hotels and lodges and this had opened my eyes to the possibilities of training people in different communities. Unfortunately our passions were not in the same direction and we parted ways.

Into my life came a wonderful woman and my dear friend, Iris Adams. Sitting in her home one day listening to her passion for her community and her dreams of making life better for those around her changed my life forever! African Divas or the idea for African Divas the brand was born. To create a brand that did not just sell products but changed lives. A brand that cared about its people on a personal level, a brand that stood for more than profits.

Iris had an NGO (Non Governmental Organization) and I discovered from our many conversations, that their greatest challenge was in getting and maintaining sustainable funding. I decided to establish a vehicle that would become an efficient fund-raising mechanism – the brand African Divas.

We started a small business, manufacturing beautiful handcrafts for corporates. There were six ladies that formed the initial group. That group became like family with very little skills but a great love for each other and an overwhelming need to succeed. Most of the group had not had work for many years and this was a real chance to change their lives.

In the first six months we learnt to make quality products, I had no idea where or to whom I was going to sell these products. I just had faith that the right people would come along and open up the right doors for us.

Times have been tough and on many occasions I have asked myself the question...is this worth it? The answer is always the same, anything that offers someone the chance at a whole dignified life is worth it. As I have said to the family at African Divas you do not just produce products, you help to change another person’s world.

With hard work, dedication and much grace, this group has now grown to over 40 craft and sales people. There is a further two hundred beaders from a community in Mpumalanga that we engage regularly when we have a project that is too large for our locals to handle. We have developed in excess of five hundred different products. We are justifiably proud of the quality of our products, as well as our ability to pay our people a living wage.

Many of our business partners share our vision of making a difference in so-called poor communities. I say “so-called” because the biggest poverty in these communities is the deprivation of opportunities and somebody to believe in them, sufficiently. Our primary challenge at this point is finding enough business in the shortest possible time to make this exercise a sustainable venture. We have many more projects planned not only at Itshepeng but at African Divas as well, but sadly there is only so much money to go around. We are not asking for charity we are asking for people with a passion for people to support the African Divas Brand. We have approached the DTI but do not meet their criteria at this point.

Having self-funded over the last two years, we find that our business partners are the glue that keeps “our” communities alive. We have a great team of committed individuals working together to achieve a common purpose: To help alleviate the scourge of unemployment, substance abuse and hopelessness that plague so many people and communities.

Evoke magazine is part of the African Divas Brand and another vehicle we are going to use to help change the lives of many of those lost in our communities. May God bless our Nation and help us build a future for our children that each and everyone of us can be proud of.To the many wonderful people out there doing as we at African Divas do, keep showing kindness to others and that kindness will come back to bless your life.

My plea to all of South Africa is to get involved in some way, somewhere, to help make a difference!

<< back to about African Divas