Wadzanai
 An Accidental ArtistFilling out a passport application form was Wadzanai’s passport to a new career. It was an understated moment foreshadowing an untapped talent resource just waiting to be discovered. Wadzanai smiles modestly and shrugs: ‘I didn’t know that I was an artist. I just had to put something on the form next to occupation.’ Her humble manner underplays her immense creative intelligence for Wadzanai Bello has the artist’s Midas touch. Any material she touches from beadwork to fabric to recycled materials is transformed into exquisite handwork. She absorbs instructions like a sponge, mastering techniques and surpassing designers’ expectations with her skilled insight. Still Waters Run Deep ‘That day you showed me your sewing machine was the first time I had ever used one,’ she giggles, ‘I just didn’t want you to think I couldn’t use one.’ (That day she sewed a simple felt stocking. The next day she returned with a bag, expertly sewn up in a morning!) If there is ever any trace of apprehension, question or self doubt, Wadzanai masterfully conceals it with her calm, friendly, patient demeanour. However, this is not all that she conceals. Beneath her sparkling smile and stillness, lie deep wounds of her life circumstances.  Growing up in Harare, Zimbabwe was not easy and as the socio-economic climate deteriorated so too did her quality of life. Wadzanai left school at form 3 level while grappling with abandonment by the men in her life. Her father and mother separated leaving her mother to support her, a sister and three brothers. Her boy friend left her to support an unborn child. Her son now twelve years of age, lives with her in a small one room home. Her fifteen year old sister has also recently taken refuge with her. Such massive responsibilities for a twenty-eight year old woman!In Zimbabwe Wadzanai worked as a waitress until 2000, when no food, no jobs and no money forced her to partake in other initiatives like travelling to Mozambique to gather supplies to sell back home. At the tender age of 24 she would risk her money and her health to buy and transport 50kg of food across borders. On many occasions police corruption and social desperation could result in stock confiscation, leaving her with nothing for her efforts. Wadzanai’s son’s name is Tinashe which means ‘God is with us’, a poetic reminder of faith, trust and protection when her life seems so far removed from a sense of secure home. He had been raised by her mother, creating a strong bond of partnership between mother and daughter and colouring the heartbreak of this tremendously tragic year.  “A Gem in our Crafter Community”Wadzanai’s mother died suddenly and unnecessarily of diabetes in June of this year. The shocking conditions of healthcare in Zimbabwe meant that she was wrongly diagnosed with TB and treated accordingly to no avail. Wadzanai didn’t even have money to go to the funeral. To add insult to injury, this was the height of a cold rainy Cape Town Winter when foreigners came under Xenophobic attack. Wadzanai was shunted from one residence to another, finding no peace. She initially stayed in an overcrowded dorm room in Maitland, sometimes sharing with 30 people and even sleeping head to toe. Next she moved to Khayelitsha only to have most of her possessions stolen during the Xenophobic riots.  She moved back to Maitland until the police closed it down forcing her back to the townships. This is not home for either as she describes her fears of people trying to attack her for money. She cannot work from her living space as she is constantly harassed by people making demands on her and the children would run away with her beads. She prefers the chatty banter in African Home’s work space to the sounds of domestic violence in her back yard. This time when she shrugs her shoulders matter of factly, its in relation to her incredible emotional strength and will to survive: ‘Let me suffer here,’ she says, ‘I cant go back now’. Pleasant SurprisesDiscussing arts and crafts brightens Wadzanai’s face and lightens her emotional load. She characterises her budding career by the unexpected and tells of her wonderful connection with Beth, a jewellery designer who took her under her wing. It was a soft landing for Wadzanai from the tribulations of Zimbabwe to comfortable accommodation in Beth’s home and abundance of creative training and regular beadwork. She explains that she didn’t have a dream of being an artist but the techniques would just come naturally and she would get a ‘feeling for the way things look or the ways that colours worked together’. Sometimes she would pick up a necklace, break it up and recreate it according to her own designs.  When Beth decided to move to Johannesburg, her world crumbled and her painful journey began. Nevertheless, expecting the unexpected brought her to African Home one busy Friday morning. She popped in to present some of her jewellery on a day when her crafter friend Jim was working frenetically on an impressive but demanding order.Quietly and unassumingly, she picked up a paint brush and joined our creative team, firmly establishing herself into our books and our hearts. Wadzanai’s eagerness to work in house means that she is always there to experiment with new exciting products from Christmas angels, pixie boots and brooches to recycled bead and can curtains or milk carton bags. She is truly a gem in our crafter community chest. Clearer Skies, Brighter Future Most recently, Wadzanai has been enjoying happier times. The bonds she has made at African Home have ensured that we take a special interest in her well being, doing all we can to celebrate her talent and dedication. We have been instrumental in finding her a new home, far safer, more comfortable and convenient than her previous dwellings. We have intervened to help Tinashe find placement in a wonderful school and we have enjoyed seeing the orders start to come her way. We hope that after many months of product development and co-creation; the demand for Wadzanai’s fabulous creations continues to grow. |
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