Cape Town - She was homeless and down on her luck before the lockdown but now Carin Rhoode’s future is as bright and shiny as the jewellery she makes, after she moved into her own store in upmarket Sea Point.
After battling homelessness for several years, Rhoode, 50, will begin her new business venture with a store to display her handmade jewellery, at the Mojo Market in Regent Road, Sea Point.
Her store officially opened today.
After her husband’s passing in 2008, and her father’s in 2011, her life had spiralled out of control, leaving her with no stable place to call home, she said.
“After I lost my husband and my father, things just went downhill for me. I was severely depressed and my husband signed away my house without me knowing.”
She had previously lived at her sister’s home, but felt she was a burden. She then stayed for a short while at the Haven Night Shelter in Green Point and Wynberg. After an alleged sexual assault by a shelter manager, she decided to leave, fearing for her own safety.
While sleeping at the Company’s Garden, she secured a job as a hairdresser in Woodstock. The salon closed and she found herself homeless and unemployed. In 2012, Rhoode spent nights scouring Greenmarket Square for beads to make jewellery.
“In the beginning, when I started picking up beads, I was very shy because people would walk past and make comments – nasty stuff. There were even some people who would say I’m picking up beads as a front. People were nasty, especially the homeless people, but I knew I was going to have breakfast or lunch the next day because of those beads.”
With Unilever’s Sunlight brand awarding her R150 000 and other helpful hands, her store, Beads and All, at Mojo Market, allows her to sell earrings, necklaces, bracelets and Christmas decorations.
She is assisted by her partner Rameez Kemp, from Mitchells Plain, who met Rhoode three years ago, while he was living on the streets.
“Carin is a perfect example of the resilience, creativity and determination that so many of our female business owners represent,” said Sunlight brand manager Lerato Dumisa.
Cape Argus