Hip new doll changing attitudes

[caption id="attachment_96321" align="aligncenter" width="596"] CHILD’S PLAY: Maite Makgoba, founder of Childish Trading and Manufacturing, stands behind a Momppy Mpoppy doll in Johannesburg. Picture: AFP[/caption]

SHE is black and trendy, and young South African girls are learning to love her.

Meet Momppy Mpoppy, who is a step ahead of other black dolls across Africa who are often dressed in traditional ethnic clothes.

Decked out in the latest fashions and sporting an impressive afro, complete with a tiara, Momppy could play her own small part in changing the way that black children look at themselves.

Maite Makgoba, founder of Childish Trading and Manufacturing, said she started her small business after realising that black dolls available on the market did not appeal to children.

“They were frumpy and unattractive, some in traditional attire. That is not the reality of today,” the 26-year-old entrepreneur said.

The dolls are assembled in China, but the real work starts in Makgoba’s tiny workspace in downtown Johannesburg.

Here they are styled with miniature pieces of clothing sewn and pressed by hand, packaged and sent to independent distributors. – AFP