Johannesburg, Dec 04: It's not only her fat cheeks and chubby arms that are making Missdela a hit in South Africa, this plastic baby doll named for former president Nelson Mandela, is black. The doll is a dream come true for a white South African woman who 10 years ago wanted to create an ethnic African doll to replace the caucasian-featured black and brown toys then available in stores.
"I wanted a truly African doll,'' said Judith Oosthuizen, 61, whose own love of her childhood dolls drew her to create something for black children.
"There was no legitimate black baby doll,'' she said. "I just thought about representing a doll to African children as a reflection of their own beauty.''
Inspired by Mandela, who was "the man of the day, the man of the moment'', Oosthuizen decided to name her dream doll "Missdela''. She commissioned an artist to make a doll after looking at African children. Eight years after being inspired to make Missdela, Oosthuizen reached a deal with a South African manufacturer, prima toys, to produce the doll. Now thousands of copies of the 41-centimeter doll are retailing for 100 Rands (USD16) each.
Dressed in traditional African outfits, Missdela has proved so popular since it arrived in stores two weeks ago, that even lawmakers have made orders for their own. Bureau Report