Mr Happy Square Man is made by the women of Batsiranai Craft Project, an IFAT (International Fair Trade Association) member and cooperative of mothers with disabled children living in Dzivarasekwa township in Zimbabwe. Each toy is handmade using felt fabric. Mr Happy Square Man's face is hand-stitched and comes in different bright colors. The average toy is approximately 15" tall.
The women of Batsiranai have made a name for themselves through their work. To read more about them please go to blog article Visit To Batsiranai
All profits from the sale of this toy will go to benefit the children of Tichakunda. Tichakunda is a scool for children aged 3 to 7 based in a low income suburb in Harare called Hatcliffe. These children's families live below the poverty line, yet the commnuity has come together to build a school for their children to attend during the day. Tashanda's founder and a friend accidentally stumbled upon the school on a visit to Zimbabwe in 2007. We then pledged to support the school using the profits from the sale of selected Tashanda products Afrobags and now felt toys.
Since we came across Tichakunda, we have enrolled others and a non-profit was set up to benefit the school. To learn more about the school go to the Tichakunda website. To read about our first visit, and see videos of the children we are supporting, go to Tichakunda blog story |