By Teboho Moloi
QWAQWA – When her father, the family’s breadwinner, passed away two years ago, 24-year-old Seipati Motsoeneng of Mabolela turned her inherited shoemaking skills into a livelihood to support her mother, younger sibling and daughter while chasing her dream of owning a shoe factory.
Against all odds, Seipati now sits at the same busy Mampoi Road street corner in Phuthaditjhaba where her late father, popularly known as “The Maker”, earned a living for years through repairing and crafting shoes.
A mother of a four-year-old girl, she says life forced her to step into his footsteps after his passing left the family without an income.
In an interview with The Guard, Motsoeneng said the following, “Look, it’s tough times now, there are no job opportunities and you can’t sit and wait for employment you don’t even know will come. I am doing this not by choice but as a way to make an honest living,” she said.
Shoemaking is not new to her. Seipati learned the craft at home, assisting her father after school while studying at Makabelane Technical School. She matriculated in 2019 and later enrolled at a TVET college to study carpentry, another skill she hopes will serve her future ambitions.
“For now, this is my life. As long as I can provide for my mother and my family, that’s all that matters. I can create a shoe from scratch to finish. It just demands a lot of materials, but one day I will fulfil the dream of owning my own shoe factory,” she said with a hopeful smile.
With every stitch and every repaired sole, Seipati continues a legacy, and builds a future she refuses to give up on.
