Evelyn Munsamy.
Durban - Evelyn Munsamy is on a mission to show young women that they can do things for themselves.
In honour of women’s month, the Durban-born entrepreneur was featured in Tourism KwaZulu-Natal’s Women in Tourism campaign.
Munsamy is the owner of Dino Park SA, a dinosaur theme park in Port Shepstone. She said she had always loved dinosaurs and wanted to create a family-friendly space for memories.
“There's just something so special and magical about giant animals that lived before us. Watching dinosaur movies as a kid, visiting parks, and museums and exploring different places with my family was always an adventure. I was fortunate that my parents took us on different holidays and we experienced different places.
“The best memories are the funniest, adventure-filled, scary, or fascinating places that we visited. So I created a space where kids will make memories so when they are older, they can bring their kids as well."
Munsamy studied teaching and has a passion for learning and knowledge sharing. She believes it is important for children to learn by having fun.
“I am a preschool teacher by trade and studied early childhood development. I also studied event management and completed two training courses in floristry. It's important for children to learn but when it's done while having fun, it will never be forgotten and becomes memorable.”
She said her creativity had allowed her to not only empower herself but other women as well.
“My creativity led me to open my own events business in 2007, which ran successfully. With the passion and knowledge of teaching, I also created a training division that empowered other women with the skill set to start their own decor businesses."
She said opening Dino Park SA in October last year required a leap of faith.
“Covid-19 forced us to rethink and restructure our lives and business. After lots of prayer and research, my family decided to take the leap of faith and move our business to the South Coast after we found our perfect mini Jurassic jungle. That was the birth of Dino Park SA. We are still a new business and we have more plans to expand.”
Munsamy is married with two children.
“We are big on family and they are always involved in everything we do. My husband Clinton is the absolute best and supports all my crazy ideas and brings them to life. I have amazing children, Samuel and Aliana. They are actually the 'SA' in our name, Dino Park SA. We love to travel and experience new places, food and play together. We believe in God first and then people.”
She said it was important to ask for help to overcome challenges and to also learn from those around you.
“As I've just stepped into this new industry of tourism, I'm still learning. I have joined my local tourism industry, Ugu Tourism and KZN Tourism, and they have been good in offering training and exposure,” Munsamy said.
"I advise anyone to align themselves with people and organisations that will offer you help to grow in your relevant field. There is so much potential to grow. You need to be open to asking for help.
“I also watched and learned from my mum, that running a business and a family can be done. So I have the confidence to do it on my own. My daughter in turn can see this modelled for her and she has the confidence to do things for herself. So the more women we have in business that model this and are given the platform to share, the more we will give more girls the confidence to step out of the box, be creative and fulfil their dreams and goals.”
For more information on Dino Park SA, log on to the website www.dinoparksa.co.za
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