The sadness behind a smile

Life hasn’t been easy for Moses Rombayi, but everyone who meets him is struck by his sunny, optimistic nature and his humour. He smiles a lot.

Smiling must have been difficult over the years. One of nine children, he lost his mother at the tender age of 12 and at the same time was laid low by polio.

He didn’t get treatment for the crippling virus in time and, as a result, does not have full use of his legs. But, he has never felt sorry for himself.

Moses learned his trade as a tailor from watching fellow seamstresses – but with his positive outlook on life he developed a love for making toys. He purchased some patterns, but they were very scarce, so he practiced making and perfecting patterns and the stitching for them.

He now runs a little business making beautiful, authentic African animal toys.

Lexi Nell, a Grade 7 student, interviewed Moses for a school project and after meeting this inspirational tailor, sent in a request to Hot Cares at 91.9FM to see if the station could help Moses.

During his interview, Moses expressed his dream to increase his productivity so his toys could be shared all over the world and to also open up a sewing school for other disabled people.

Hot Cares invited Moses and Lexi into the studio where he was presented with a new industrial sewing machine, overlocker and button hole making machine to assist with both the making of the toys and to spread his knowledge and teach others.