Page 27 - August 2017 Voices

Hope in Action
by Judy Miller
When I first met the women of the Mapusha
Weaving Cooperative they were taking turns whether it was Gertrude’s
walking daily five miles with rugs on their heads
to sit on the side of a dusty, tar road where white
people might drive by and buy their wares.
We met by chance, and we’ve spent the last
14 years working together to make a success of
the Mapusha cooperative. And each woman,
in her way, working to find her voice. When I
began my work as a volunteer. My goal was to
help the women make their co-op sustainable. I
didn’t know their language or their culture, and
had no experience in marketing. But I threw
myself into the job for these humble women
had captured my heart. I brought a hope-filled
American energy to their world and they brought
faith, tenacity, patience and laughter to mine.
Our first move was to grow the co-op by
inviting another generation of apprentices to
join us at the studio. Only some of the women
spoke English so I had a translator on my first
day with the eight new weavers. When I used the
word ‘artist’ the translator stopped speaking and
looked at me quizzically. She didn’t know this
word, there was no such word in the local dialect.
After much discussion Regina, the chairwoman,
came up with the word ‘crafter.’ It seems there
truly was no word for artist in their world but
this is exactly the job that needed to be done. I
became the cheerleader, encouraging them to
use their extensive weaving skills to produce
beautiful, sophisticated rugs and tapestries which
would sell in a world far from the rural village of
Rooiboklaagte. They needed to become artists to
support themselves and their extensive families.
My job outside the studio was to bring
Mapusha and their weavings into the public eye
and to find markets for their craft. I honed my
writing skills with articles for the local papers,
blogs, newsletters and fundraising appeals.
The first time a group of American tourists
visited the studio and left with their arms filled
with woven goods, I cheered with the women as
they sang and raised their arms to the heavens
giving thanks for their good fortune.
Through the years, as many others stepped
forward to support the women and children
of Rooboklaagte, I found myself serving as
conduit between generosity and gratitude.
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 AUGUST, 2017
Catastrophes occurred,
house falling down on her
disabled granddaughter or
Anna getting a diagnosis of
full-blown AIDS, and people helped. They also
pitched into the community, giving the grade
school a long-overdue facelift, and funded the
digging of a well for clean drinking water.
The studio is doing well these days with their
work in a local crafts store and an international
non-profit helps them produce products to sell
in the many nearby lodges. When Newman’s
Own foundation commissioned a rug from
Mapusha for the entry way of their new
headquarters in Connecticut we all stood proud.
I chronicled both our many battles and our
many triumphs in my memoir, Hand Spun Hope,
Making a Difference in Rural South Africa. I’m
banking on Toastmasters to help me polish my
speaking skills and grow my confidence so that
I can be a resonant voice for hope-in-action. I
want to second the words of Nelson Mandela,
“Action without vision is only passing time,
vision without action is merely daydreaming, but
vision with action can change the world.”
Last year I returned to Portland and I’m
hungry to share my stories. My wonderful
Toastmasters for Speaking Professionals club
is helping me gain the skills I need to share my
message of hope. I want to inspire others with the
proof of what can occur when vision is coupled
with action and to talk about the truth that hope
breeds more and more hope.
Women of the Mapusha Weavers Cooperative
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