Original Story Published by: Priscella Mwila for Zambia Daily Mail Limited
(Above) Cecilia Njobvu—accompanied by her models—are showcasing her designs during a fashion show.
At the age of two, her parents divorced and she had to be brought up by her singer mother. Now aged 20, Cecilia Njovu describes the experience as challenging.
Cecilia says it was one of her most difficult experiences seeing her mother, Christine Mumba, struggling to make ends meet.
“The situation was challenging after dad left us,” she says. “We had to fend for ourselves and being the only child from my mother’s side, it always broke my heart to see her struggle to provide food or school fees, while some of the children at my school had an easy way out.”
Cecilia remembers one case when she was chased from school because she had not paid school fees on time.
She says she did not tell her mother that she had been chased from school when she went home. Somehow, she was hoping that money will be found somehow, somewhere.
Instead, she told her mother that they were on a mid-term break. However, her mother got concerned after the normal period for a midterm, which is normally one or two weeks elapsed, and yet, Cecilia was still home.
Her mother visited the school and discovered that her daughter had been sent away for delaying to pay schools fees. Fortunately, she managed to talk to the school authorities and Cecilia was back in school.
Cecilia describes herself as a determined person. It is difficult to disagree with her. Despite that challenging upbringing, Cecilia is riding high in her chosen field of fashion designing. She owns her own fashion label called Ulo Designs, which she hopes to grow internationally.
“If their connections remain claims-free during the year, they can retrieve as much as 40 per cent of their premiums,” Scheffel explains.
Last month, Cecilia submitted her name for a competition organised by Legendary Gold Limited of Nigeria under the Africa Fashion Reception.
Legendary Gold Limited has been promoting the African Fashion Reception with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The African edition, now in its fourth year, is organised in partnership with the African Union and UNESCO.
The major goal of the Africa Fashion Reception is to bring about infrastructural development and wealth creation for Africa through the creative industry of fashion.
The last edition, held in September in 2016, was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and presented Africa’s best and most creative designers, producers of shoes, bags, jewelleries, make up, beauty and hair products to the global market.
To be eligible to participate, these products must be locally sourced and produced in Africa with global best practice.
At the Africa Fashion Reception (AFR) official launch in 2013 in Paris, France, Legendary Gold Ltd presented 13 designers from 13 African countries.
To read the full article, visit Zambia Daily Mail.
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