Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These…

Sorbet SEW Storytellers: Zelma Matinise

She’s a woman with a purpose, and a smile that lights up a room. She walks the streets of
Cape Town to her place of work, with a youthful glint in her eye - and a knowing that her
dreams of big city success are being manicured to a beautiful reality. Her name is
Zelma Matinise - and she’s a proud SEW Graduate.  

Words by: Lulu Larché, Room 206

“I am who I am today because of Sorbet and The Clothing Bank,” says Zelma Matinise, while on her way to work at Steenberg Sorbet on a bright Saturday morning in Cape Town. “I really enjoy working with Sorbet and, even now, when I walk into the store to start work, I love it. It’s a great environment and feels so healthy: so clean and peaceful.”

Zelma was one of the first of four graduates to complete her training as a qualified nail technician through the SEW Academy, in partnership with The Clothing Bank. Having originally wanted to study engineering, a career in beauty was a vast departure from her initial ambitions but in brightly-coloured pots of gelish, amidst UV lights, the creativity of nail applications and, most of all, the happiness she finds in interacting on an hourly basis with her clientele, Zelma has not only found her calling in life but a place of belonging too.  

Zelma’s story began when she approached The Clothing Bank: a social enterprise focused on up-skilling and empowering unemployed women to social and financial independence. At that time, the social initiative available was selling clothing – and was restricted to mothers only.

“Divya was the one who saw the potential in me, and helped me get to where I am today.” As Divya began working closely at the time with passionate, capable women like Zelma, an inspired partnership was setting in the wings. 

In 2013, Tracey Chambers, CEO of The Clothing Bank, had the idea to train women as nail technicians to start their own home-based businesses. The Clothing Bank soon took up a partnership with leading beauty salon group, Sorbet, which shared the same vision for empowering strong and beautiful women – and together the idea birthed to train and mentor these young women through the SEW initiative. In 2015 the model changed from a franchise to an employment model, and has been running successfully ever since.

Zelma was one of the very first learners to train through the then newly established SEW Academy in 2014.  She admits that the ride wasn’t always smooth – with challenges, obstacles and hurdles that needed to be overcome, as well as processes and procedures that needed to be fine-tuned within and by the SEW Academy “But even so, I wouldn’t have changed this journey for the world,” she adds.

“I love what I do and I’m good at it too”

After a short stint of running her own beauty store, Zelma found permanent employment at Sorbet The Point, where owner Mandy Metz was integral in her journey - another woman she deems a change maker in her life. “I never imagined myself becoming a nail technician, but this is definitely the industry for me. I love what I do and I’m good at it too,” she smiles at me, and I get that wholesome all-too familiar fairytale feeling.      

Beyond happiness, beauty and life skills, employment and a whole host of life-changing, character-expanding experiences, perhaps the most exciting thing that the SEW journey has given Zelma – for the first time in her life – is the capacity and the courage to dream, and dream big.

“Now I have goals. I want to work on cruise ships, or abroad in places like Dubai. I never imagined – or even dreamed – about that ever happening. But now I want to travel, to see different things, to meet and work with different clientele. I still want more. I want to go for it. And now I know I can.”
  

MORE ABOUT SEW

The Sorbet Empowering Women (SEW) Academy is the result of a deep seated collaboration between Sorbet and The Clothing Bank. Started in 2014, the SEW Academy recruits, trains (combining technical beauty accreditations with important soft-skill interventions), mentors, coaches, and ultimately secures employment opportunities for successful graduates within The Sorbet Group, specifically in Sorbet and Amazi Salons. To date, SEW has created 53 jobs for women from previously disadvantaged backgrounds – and has an overarching goal to empower 145 women by March 2018. For more info on how you could contribute to SEW please visit www.sorbet.co.za