Social Initiative: Give the gift of creativity

The Elves At School Youth (EASY) project, which is an initiative that was founded by a young woman by the name of Abigail Florence, plays a key role in skills development in young people.

The 32-year-old Abigail (Abby as she is popularly called), who hails from Athlone, Cape Town said she has always been passionate about helping school learners in choosing the right career path.

Abby said she has realised that many kids find it difficult to choose careers and some are not even aware that they can do wonderful things with their own hands and venture into entrepreneurship through the things that they have created.

She and her staff members (comprising about five people) run workshops over school holidays every year to teach high school kids on various skill development areas and also to empower them and instil an entrepreneurial spirit in them from a young age.

“With this programme, we aim to inspire the spirit of creativity, design and entrepreneurship in high school learners using timeless needlecraft skills like sewing, crocheting, knitting and embroidery as a foundation,” she said.

This year’s workshop started on Monday, 13 July 2015 and ended on Friday, 17 July 2015. She ran the workshop in partnership with Bruce Wade of Entrepreneur Incubator & Academy, who gave training on entrepreneurship.

Abby’s project solely depends on the donations from generous individuals and businesses that are willing to invest in the development of the youth.

“The EASY project is made possible entirely by the generous contributions and donations of corporate and individual sponsors,” she said.

Abby believes that entrepreneurship and self-empowerment offer pathways for young people to emerge from unemployment, hence she started this initiative.

Our country needs a lot of people like Abby who sees that there is a great need to invest in young people, in their skills and in their ability to innovate. The youth need to be equipped to make the best choices for themselves. Programmes like these are needed to nurture the development of entrepreneurial skills in youth.

For more info about the EASY Programme please visit www.elvesatwork.co.za or contact Abby Florence on 021 4470446 / info@elvesatwork.co.za