Marguerite Mavros Macdonald took 47 refugee families under her wing during the lockdown and now she is helping them by launching a not-for-profit business.
Cape Town, South Africa (03 December 2020) – Marguerite Mavros Macdonald launched an initiative during lockdown that supported all the refugee artists, Big Issue sellers, Funny Money sellers and beggars who had been left to fend for themselves.
Marguerite called the initiative “Bro’s at the Ro”, Ro being slang for Robot (or Traffic light for our international readers). She used her Instagram account to tell their stories and it was a massive success. She started a support group and with the influx of donations from the public, she was able to keep the group financially afloat during the worst part of the lockdown.
Each week Marguerite was able to send vouchers to the cellphones of each family that was part of her support group; a whopping 47 families benefitted.
According to Cécile and Boyd, an interior design store in Cape Town, Marguerite started helping the local beadworkers when the lockdown eased as they were being most hard-hit by the lack of international tourists in Cape Town.
She worked with the men and designed some beautiful pieces, including angels for the festive season. Cécile and Boyd have agreed to take on the art pieces to sell but Marguerite is also selling them to people who are not able to visit the store in Cape Town.
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The project is now being run as a not-for-profit business that supports the artists. All sales go directly back to them and their running costs.
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Sources: Marguerite Macdonald / Cécile and Boyd
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