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Andre',
Ruth & James Marriott with the Art at Work©
team.
Art at Work©,
is a self-funded learner ship project where we work with
Xhosa Women who have moved down from the Eastern Cape
with hopes and dreams to find work and establish a
better life for themselves as well as their family.
Sadly this move has its
own problems unless the women are able to speak English,
have a skill or have worked before. Here is the
challenge and there are thousands of people that do not
fall into this category and therefore fall through the
cracks in our society.
These people land up in
areas in the greater part of Cape Town, the squatter
camps / slums in Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Paarl &
Grabouw. The worst hit area is Somerset West.
We live in the town of
Somerset West, we started our project working with
Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho women, all are single mothers.
Mercy was the first women that we started
teaching, this was a slow process as we did not speak
Xhosa.
After months of
frustration we came up with a idea to set out a point
for point learning system. We had this translated five
times, due to the dialects from the different parts of
the Transkei & Eastern Cape. With this we then started
to make head way. Blondie was next to join our team, we
started to get the ball rolling. After a year we had 2
women that were now able to teach.
With this art at work
was on its way, now all the women have a share in our
business. Art at Work©
is a multi
eclectic group of ideas that is growing as we experience
Life, walking along the paths we choose through this
magical journey.
Let us introduce you to
our team. We are Ruth and Andre' Marriott, combining
our creative spirits in marriage and in work. This with
the talented women that make up the rest of our creative
pot, they are Robyn, Mercy, Blondie, Amanda, Cynthia, Tosh,
Neziwe, Patience, Kelly, Charmain, Elsie, Praice, Stix,
Esther, Viviene, Juliet & Emma.
We revere art and find
reason to express it in every facet of our life. Here
we create Art that works for you in functional ways and
also creates work for those less fortunate than
ourselves.
We believe that only
when you pass your knowledge on to your
fellow man / woman, do
you grow.
We have the old saying
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"Give a man a fish
and he will eat for a day
Teach a man how to
fish and he will eat for a lifetime."
Some ex team Art at Work©
members that have moved on to a higher place, may they
always be blessed.
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