29 Jun 2015

Orelebe Thebe, born in Mookane in 1980, is a young woman living her dream.

Thebe’s fashion design entrepreneurship was not ushered on a silver platter, neither was it by default.

After she did not perform well at junior school, she decided not to take the academic route when her mother’s cousin, Thatayothe Kutuso,  whom she regarded as her mother wanted to send her to a private institution to finish school.

Instead, Thebe opted for a fashion design course and enrolled with Koketso School of Tailoring and Design.

It appears that had been in her blood since tender age given her passion in needle work during her early primary school days. The now established Thebe believes that doing art at junior school contributed to her dream coming true. “C grade in art was the only better grade in my JC results,” she recalls.

After completing an elementary course, she worked for Otsetswe Fabrics and Francistown Knitters respectively in 2007 before pursuing a secretarial course at Letlhakane Brigade.

After a short spell, she went to Gaborone where she joined other youth and tried to get involved in fashion design. She says their efforts did not bear fruit because of misunderstandings.

Later, she attended some lessons at some business institution but because she did not have enough money for school fees she quit to search for piece jobs.

Thebe found herself cleaning at African Experience Lodge in Mogoditshane immediately after its construction where one Gofamodimo Sethole who was a fashion designer, saw potential in her as she sometimes engaged her to do bead work on wedding gowns.

“She then gave me part time jobs to make beads at P10 per hour,” says the young fashion designer.

Also, she says because she was a hard worker, the Chinese national who operated the lodge hired her for housekeeping. One day, she says, Sethole advised her to start her own fashion design business since she had potential.

At the time, the Chinese national owned domestic hand straight and industrial over locker sewing machines.

“I told this couple that instead of paying me with money they could give me the sewing machines,” recalls Thebe,  and they obliged.

She says she cleaned yards and built traditional huts to raise money to set up a fashion design venture in Mookane.

After buying material, she won a tender to supply Mookane Primary school with uniform. She continued doing piece jobs to supplement the material she bought.

She says initially she struggled to meet demand, and was compelled to supply incomplete sets of uniform.

In 2013, through the poverty eradication programme, she  acquired  four sewing machines - straight , industrial  over lock, domestic button hole and domestic hand.
The package also included a cutting board, iron and ironing board.

The same year, she won the Mookane uniform tender again. That year again, she  participated in a Social and Community Development fashion design competition and won third position in the Central District.

She also participated in a mini show at Mahalapye and took position one in the female two-piece attire category and second in the male attire category.
In 2014, she was the overall winner of the mini-show  

Through a series of odd jobs, Thebe eventually found the bridge to her own world of success and she is now a fully fledged fashion designer.

Her products range from school uniform, wedding gowns, men’s attire, dinner dresses, German prints and curtains. On average, she makes around P2 500.

Nonetheless, Thebe says at the end of January this year, she made P11 000. She says she is capable of maintaining the machines because trouble shooting and fixing was part of her studies at Koketso School of Tailoring and Design.

She has a backup generator in case of power outages. Her dream is to expand her business to other areas.

Her role model and motivator, Pinki Setlalekgosi of Sprint Couriers, she says, always comes to her rescue whenever she needs assistance. She says Setlalekgosi has assisted her to build a fashion and design shelter.

The Jesus Five Missions Zion Church member, says she now has a savings policy for her two children. She has also been able to fence her yard. She spends her spare time doing pottery. Ends