Christel House South Africa (CHSA) students learn to dream big and think creatively from a young age. Timia L., a 7th grader, has created a thriving business baking and selling boxes of butter biscuits in her community. But with her entrepreneurial mindset, she found a unique way to make her baked goods even more popular. Timia came up with the idea to sell the biscuits in single servings! She knew that community members would love the sweet treats and they would be able to more easily afford the cost of individual biscuits, especially during the pandemic. Her newfound customers bought the biscuits at R1 each (around 10 cents in USD) and her business started thriving. Timia credits her grandmother for teaching her how to bake the biscuits. Timia dreams of one day teaming up with her grandmother to open their own bakery, cooking treats side-by-side. Timia also wants to see the world. “I hope to be able to travel,” she says. “I’m saving money to one day visit London.”
Timia’s mom, Vanessa, is also a familiar face at CHSA. She has volunteered at the Christel House library since 2015. Like her daughter, she’s fulfilling her own dreams. Vanessa plans to become a teacher. With encouragement from colleagues, she is working as a teacher’s assistant at CHSA while taking classes to become an instructor.