In an attempt to empower young women the non-profit organisation (NPO) Two Sisters, community-service organisation Nacosa and recruitment agency Smart HR Solutions, held a two-day workshop tailored specifically for women.
The event was held at Chris Hani Community Hall at C section on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 August.
Founder of Two Sisters Tisetso Moletsane said the workshop targeted young women for empowerment as they are the most vulnerable and targeted in communities.
The Mfuleni-based organisation educates and empowers young people with skills to become independent.
“Based on the studies that we have,” said Moletsane, “we noticed young women are the victims of almost everything in our communities, especially when they are unemployed. Some of them end up dating old men because they want to live a nice life, which leads to teenage pregnancy, infection with HIV/Aids, substance abuse, dropping out of school and so on.”
Moletsane said it trained them to start their businesses and have a steady independent source of income.
More than 100 young women participated in the event.
“We are pleased by the number of people attending the workshop,” said Moletsane. “Today (Monday) 46 people attended the workshop. We are expecting more people to come on Tuesday 20 August as it is our last day.”
Nacosa team leader Jasmine Follit said the organisation’s job is to empower girls with skills to stand tall.
Nacosa works to build strong, equal and healthy communities, free from the burden of HIV/Aids, tuberculosis (TB) and gender-based violence (GBV) and associate dangers.
“We want them to be fit mentally, physically and verbatim,” explained Follit. “We want them to be able to stand up for themselves. We also train for job-readiness and mentor the girls for six months.
Follit said Nacosa would provide them with a business starter-up kit valued at R250 each.
She said those who already have small businesses would indicate what they wanted. They would then buy it for them.
One participant, Asavela Mbotya (22) from Extension 4, described the workshop as fruitful; it revived their hopes.
“Most important thing is that it motivates us to stay focused. They encourage us not to despair. Also they teach us what we must expect from work. In terms of pressure and other things.”
She urged her peers to empower themselves instead of sitting and doing nothing.
