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LEARN ABOUT ZULU ZEN

Zulu Zen is dedicated to sourcing uniquely handcrafted homewares, decor, jewellery and gift items from South Africa. As an online retailer and distributor of contemporary African inspired decor my focus is to source well designed, functional and aesthetically appealing products.

Originally from Durban in South Africa, my love for the country, its people and culture still

remains strong and I hold Africa close to my heart. Through Zulu Zen I passionately pursue my business and love of Africa by displaying a delightful range of handcrafted products with a focus on sustainability, our environment and skill creation projects for local artisans and crafters.

Designers, artisans and crafters have a passion and desire to acknowledge their traditional

ancestry, to embrace contemporary design and this can be seen in this fusion of art and craft currently emanating out of Africa. Their skill and imagination will amaze you.

Be Inspired... Enjoy!

Tracy-Lee

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

PJ'S FROM AFRICA - UNDIES FROM DOWN UNDER

“PJ’s for Africa” our first community project saw children living impoverished areas in South Africa receive their very own brand new pyjamas from people in Australia.

It was an amazing experience and led to our next community project “Undies from Down-Under” which aims at providing the children of Phakamisa with new underwear.

PHAKAMISA is pronounced PA-GA-MEE-SA, and means ‘to lift up, to grow’. Phakamisa is an organisation that exists to serve, uplift and empower impoverished communities through the provision of educational training, resourcing and support.

It all began after watching a program on the Oprah Winfrey Show. A guest on Oprah’s show talked about how she had been volunteering at an emergency shelter for women and children.

Her story was about homeless children and how she had noticed the children were going to sleep at night in their street clothes. When she inquired to the director of the shelter as to why they were sleeping in their clothes, the response was that they simply did not have pyjamas. The volunteer from New York began collecting pyjama donations for the children and although thrilled to receive them many did not know what pyjamas were and had never worn them before. It was a beautiful story and I immediately

thought about the orphans of Phakamisa in South Africa. Feelings of sadness and happiness of this story stayed with me all day and that night when I tucked my little boys into bed I realised how easy it is to take little things like pyjamas and a story at night for granted. I knew I wanted to do something similar. I named my project ‘PJ’s for Africa’ and approached friends and customers with my idea to donate new pyjamas to Zulu Zen. The response was wonderful. I collected over 80 pairs of new pyjamas for children aged 0-16 years in a few months. I personally delivered the new pyjamas to the orphans at Phakamisa in South Africa when I returned to see my family in 2009.

Sean, our three sons and I visited Phakamisa in my hometown of Pinetown in Kwa-Zulu Natal. We arrived with the new pyjamas and a special treat of cake and Easter eggs for the children. It was a very special day for me, my family and the little children as many of the them had never worn pyjamas before and would probably want to wear their new clothes all day! Whilst visiting Phakamisa I spoke with the volunteers and organisers and asked how I could continue to support them and they said many children did not have their own underwear. A simple clothing requirement such as underwear assists in providing the children with hygiene and gives them dignity, however many living in impoverished rural homes in South Africa do not have this basic need provided for them. In a country with extremely high sexual child abuse many children are vulnerable prey to child abusers.

So with sadness in my heart after hearing how this is happening everyday to children I decided to continue to help in a small way and bring happiness to these precious children by collecting underwear from friends and customers on my return to Australia. And so ‘Undies from Down-Under’ came about. We can’t always change what happens in the world but we can provide for others less fortunate than ourselves. If a pair of undies (underwear) gives these little children privacy and dignity then I feel we have achieved something valuable – the act of giving to others so their lives will be better.

Zulu Zen thanks all their customers and friends that have donated to ‘PJ’S FOR AFRICA’ and to ‘UNDIES FROM DOWN-UNDER’.

We continue to collect underwear for the children of Phakamisa and all donations are personally delivered by my family in South Africa.

Please contact me to find out how you can make your donation to ‘UNDIES FROM DOWN-UNDER’.

“UNDIES FROM DOWN-UNDER” is Zulu Zen’s project that aims to provide children (2-12 years) living in impoverished areas in South Africa with NEW underwear.

Thank you, Tracy-Lee.


The children receive their new pyjamas	A wonderful day for Zulu Zen and the children

PJ's FOR AFRICA - UNDIES FROM DOWN UNDER

PHAKAMISA is pronounced PA-GA-MEE-SA, and means ‘to lift up, to grow’.

.	Phakamisa support and educate 15000 children every day through various programs. These children live in extremely disadvantaged areas and do not have access to other aid. Their program involves:
.	290 Educare Centres teaching 10 000 children under 6 years of age.
.	1500 People caring for 5000 orphans.

.	Support and training for people working in 80 vegetable gardens which will feed 850 families.
.	Providing caregivers with skills and beads to produce beautiful beadwork to derive an income to support their orphans.

Visit PHAKAMISA at www.phakamisa.org to find out more about their organisation and how they are making a difference every day to so many people living in South Africa.

Welcome to Zulu Zen’s online concept store with contemporary African inspired decor and design.

Zulu Zen brings a fresh concept to home-wares, decor, gifts and jewellery as each product is uniquely and individually handcrafted.

We love the simplicity of handmade products using eco-friendly and recycled materials to create stunning products for you and your home.

Showcasing an eclectic mix of products, our range reflects the crafting traditions of Southern Africa. We represent a proud and inspiring African culture with artisans and crafters

displaying a natural flair for art and design.

Take a glimpse into Africa’s vibrant heritage of art and craft and enjoy the ‘new fusion’ of modern and traditional, function and form in our stunning handcrafted decor items, home-wares and jewellery.

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