Sónia Pessoa Ursotigre

I discovered my life´s passion as a child: knitting and other manual arts

I was born in Évora, a small city in the south of Portugal, 39 years ago. As a child, inspired by my grandmother and aunt, I grew in love with manual arts such as knitting, jewellery and sewing. The ability to work with my hands also helped me to support my mother, after my father died when I was six years old. I started selling my pieces at school and in the neighbourhood. It was also then that I discovered the magic of transforming a ball of woollen yarn in sweaters. These childhood experiences not only inspired me throughout my life but they also made me discover my passion for knitting, which became my activity for personal and creative development.
Finding my life´s purpose through an encounter with a child in São Tomé and Príncipe

In 2015, when I was 34, I went travelling to Sao Tome and Principe to realise tre dream to know África. Little did I know that I would also find an extremely welcoming and friendly people in spite of serious development challenges, who made me want to stay there working with them and for them. There was particular encounter that kept resonating inside of me long after I had left, and that would change everything in my life.

This encounter was with Dinix, a young boy with an open smile who strolled alongside me in Ilhéu das Rolas. That encounter was truly inspirational! I found myself back in Lisbon missing his tender presence. I also felt a growing will to bring arts and colors to other children like him as a way to occupy
their free time.

Dinix´s gaze was the spark that awoke an old dream and gave a new purpose to my life. When I founded my brand Ursotigre (knitwear by hand), I dreamt it would serve as a way to gather friends who made beautiful things in artistic domains also as a way to make wider contributions to society, in domains such as human development and environmental health. Dinix shone a light to that forgotten path. A year after meeting him, in 2016, I challenged a group of creative and artist friends in Portugal to come together and create a collective project to support vulnerable children in São Tomé and Príncipe. Missão Dimix was born.
I feel very positive of our outcomes so far. I have engaged with over 2700 children in educational activities, and hundreds more have indirectly benefited. I feel fulfilled for being able to bring awareness and stimulate the creativity of children and women to protect the environment.