Yvonne is a middle-aged, African lady who lives in a one room house, all by herself just outside town. She was married, but her Zulu husband abused her and her only child and then left. He might be dead because Yvonne is now HIV/AIDS positive.

Her family, who live just 100m away, have ostracized Yvonne when she became sick and her son, who worked as a fuel attendant in town, was arrested by police last year and is still in jail. The illness and worries was detrimental to her well being, physically she became very sick, it entered her soul, stole her dignity and confidence and left her bereft of any hope.

Yvonne was nearly dead before she sought help from a hospice run by a Zulu granny. She was given (antiretroviral drugs) ARV’s and slowly but surely her body started fighting back. She recovered to such an extent that she was able to return home and reseal her house with mud before the summer rains started.

She heard about Zimele and during a visit to her home, I convinced her to join the Khethano group of Zulu grandmothers who made the embroidered blocks for our handbags. She did not turn up the first time. The second time, someone went to visit her. The third time she asked someone to go with her. She had embroidered one block, but she lacked the confidence to show anyone.

The grandmothers in the group realised that something was wrong and reached out to this thin woman who has been robbed of all dignity and self esteem. They told her that they were also scared the first time, that they also did not know what to expect, that they were also insecure about their work but that now, after only a couple of months of training and practice, their embroidered blocks have become their proud signatures.

Now, after three months, Yvonne is making 12 blocks a week – bright, beautiful designs and flowers, and her speciality, a happy human figure waving to whoever cares to wave back! She does not miss a workshop. Although she still does not talk much, her shy smile has become a regular feature at each meeting where the friends from the group have embraced her with the love that each human being on this earth deserves.