Business acumen and a kind heart can come in small packages, as in the case of 10-year-old Alyx Currin from East London.
The big-hearted grade 5 Stirling Primary School pupil, who has started her own small craft business called i-candi, will host a workshop in which where 20 children will take part.
“I will be making play dough with them and they will get to choose the colour, scent, glitter and also make their own labels for the containers,” Alyx said.
She started to make some home- made crafts like slime, bath salts, and things that other kids wanted, by taking a loan from her father.
Zanoncedo Empowerment Centre chair Mandisa Dukashe said the children from Tsholomnqa that would be taking take part in the workshop.
“I saw this as an opportunity to broaden their minds, where they can use their hands to build on to the education they already have,” Dukashe said.
She said added that the children are a mixture of orphans and those who lived some live with their grandparents, but all of whom had been affected by HIV/Aids.
Making this event possible is Leslie Kuhlmann from New Jersey, in the USA.
“I heard a radio interview Alyx did on Wild Coast FM and I was very impressed by her drive. She is incredibly motivated and committed to a vision, especially for someone so young,” Kuhlmann said.
She added that the interview got her thinking of children who didn’t have access to Alyx’s products but would really enjoy them.
“I got in touch with Alyx’s mother, Bonnie, with the idea to sponsor her to create products for children and to do a class to show them how to create the products themselves,” she said.
Bonnie said her daughter was learning a lot by running her own business.
“She is learning real-life lessons in buying her ingredients, weighing up the cheapest against the most expensive,” she said.
Alyx has prepared gift boxes for each child, including some of her most favourite items such as soap, lip balm and cake pops.
Alyx can be reached on her Facebook page, i-candi creations. The I-Can Have Fun workshop will be held on September 29 at the Country Bumpkin.
