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Sheryl Lee Ralph Visits Penduka Women’s Project

Sheryl Lee Ralph, American singer and Hollywood actress, in Namibia to perform her powerful and inspiring one-woman show, “Sometimes I Cry,” about women affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, paid a visit to Penduka, a non-governmental women’s development organization on April 9, 2008.

Ms. Ralph began her tour of Penduka with an introduction by Martha Muulyau, training supervisor and founding member, who accompanied her as she toured fabric, ceramic, and glass workshops. She was fascinated by the batik process. She watched women melt glass in molds in a wood-fired oven and then shape the melted glass into round beads. She was delighted when a glass bead maker re-strung her amber beads from her own broken necklace with recycled glass beads of cobalt blue and sea green.

Ms. Ralph left Penduka with purchases including an intricately embroidered square of material depicting village life onto which a red AIDS ribbon had been embroidered at her request.

Penduka, which means “Wake Up” in Oshiwambo and Otjihero is a project dedicated to encouraging and supporting women to take control of their lives. Fifty-four women are employed by Penduka where priority is given to the disabled and those who are suffering from TB or are HIV affected or infected. Women produce items for sale and export including batik fabric, embroidery, bed linens, ceramics, glass beads made from recycled glass, and jewelry.

Batik fabrics are created by forming patterns from a mixture of flour, maize meal and water on fabric that is painted. The dried patterns are peeled off leaving beautiful designs. In addition, Penduka supports communities of women throughout Namibia who create needlework which is transported to Penduka and sewn into finished products at the Katutura workshop. Needlework traditions differ according to ethnic groups. For example, San women practice candle-wicking, a form of embroidery using knots, and Damara women do “mola,” a form of patchwork.

Recently, Penduka and CLASH (Association for Children with Language, Speech, and Hearing Impairments) collaborated to bring master glass bead makers from Ghana to train deaf women in the art of making glass beads from recycled glass.

Ms. Ralph’s visit to Namibia was a resounding success and all her performances were extremely well attended.