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 Madiba always tops any list so we are happy – no, thrilled! – to report
that our 89th birthday gift to Madiba (a Mozambican lifescene
commissioned by the shop from Samuel Baloyi and depicting the
first democratic cabinet) so impressed the
global icon that he requested a meeting.
And so it was that Samuel Baloyi and our
very own Greg Moran and Themba
Mhlongo found themselves sitting in
Nelson Mandela’s study in October, having
fun identifying which members of that historic cabinet were seated
where. Madiba expressed his genuine appreciation to Samuel, whose
masterful ability in the skilikadane style was already well-known by
Graca Machel – who, by the way,
has now taken to shopping for gifts at
The African Toyshop!
The meeting was memorable and
breathed life into our vision of
impacting directly and meaningfully on
the lives of individual toymakers around
Africa – not to mention bringing joy into people’s lives, as Madiba’s
delight in his gift (and the HIV/AIDS march scene that Samuel created
to mark the day) testified to.
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