Some labels mean more than others

The odds are heavily stacked against children growing up in Port Elizabeth’s townships.

Poverty is pervasive, and unemployment is rife. Factory closures, service interruptions, power outages, layoffs due to Covid-19 - just some of the problems that make it virtually impossible for the great majority of Port Elizabethans to eke out a living, let alone provide their children with any hope of a brighter future.

While many South Africans still believe that education is the great panacea, most children growing up in Port Elizabeth's townships lack access to quality education, are often sent out to work at an early age, come home to unstable homes, and seek refuge in drugs.

And that is why an indomitable firebrand named Margi Sheard chose Port Elizabeth to start a children’s clothing company and make a difference in the lives of some of its poorest women.

Myang (named after the designer’s cat) is a collective of erstwhile unemployed women with love in their hearts and fire in their bellies who refuse to let circumstances dictate their lives and want nothing more than to see their children enjoy a better life. 

Together, out of a small factory in Newton Park they create hand-made children’s clothing and accessories of world class quality.  Meeting them and watching them work together makes you realise why Port Elizabeth is called the Friendly City, despite its current situation.

They learn from each other, encourage each other, and have become a close-knit family in every sense of the word.  And out of this sisterhood, magic is manifest. Clothing, boots, shoes, sun hats, blankets, jerseys, mittens, embroidered linen, as well-made as any designer label, and yet, because love, care, and above all hope, goes into every stitch, worth so much more.

So, moms, dads, grans, grandads, favourite aunts, and uncles, next time you’re looking to spoil your little darlings, visit www.myang.co.za

And when a friend comments on their beautiful sunhats or crocheted beanies, you don’t have to tell them it’s helping to create jobs for South Africa’s poorest women, or contributing to the economy, or reducing reliance on imports, or giving hope to Port Elizabeth’s Street children.

Just tell them it’s a Myang.