Young entrepreneur, poet, and avid public speaker, Tameron Karelse (22), from Bethelsdorp, hopes that her words of encouragement will empower girls and women to realise that their unique identities will lead to their success and that they are not defined by their circumstances.
Karelse, the founder of BLU PRINT, a creative brand and business which specialises in art direction, photography and graphic design, said that her passion for women empowerment was inspired by various women who had impacted on her life.
From an early age, Karelse was an active public speaker and while attending Alexander Road High School, she became a qualified Toastmaster and even won a few best-speaker competitions.
It was, however, only in 2017, when she began presenting women empowerment talks in a more formal setting.
Karelse, a final year graphic design student at Nelson Mandela University, said recognising that women play such an integral role in building and shaping the community, motivated her to step into her role as a women empowerment speaker.
“We women, have for generations mobilised significant change, confronted difficult conversations and inspired many to follow their dreams. This is why when you make a difference in one woman’s life, it has a ripple effect and everything attached to her will be changed too,” she said.
As an aspiring writer and poet, Karelse, who established her blog titled, From Within in 2018, was fortunate enough to perform her written poems at Tribe. This is an event founded by Cleo Solomon, that allows women to come together to share real stories in a relaxed environment.
“Performing at Tribe was a profound moment because Cleo believed that my spoken words would touch the lives of the women at the event. This pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and start verbally sharing what I have always put on paper.”
During each women empowerment presentation, Karelse focuses on topics such as identity, living out your God-given purpose, being a leader in the circles and spaces you find yourself in and finding courage to invest in yourself.
“Through my presentations, I want women to rediscover their unique identity, to realise that their gifts and wisdom can be used to succeed and be reminded that they are not defined or limited to what they go through.”
Since 2019, Karelse has also been actively involved with #AWomanInProgress Campaign, a movement founded by Lorelle Campher, which aims at building and strengthening sisterhood in the form of sharing stories, celebrating one another and inspiring action, advancement and growth.
In the future, she hopes to gain experience in the graphic design industry that she will use to build her business.
Karelse also plans to grow her blog into a brand and continue venturing into motivational presentations.
In addition, she hopes to publish her poems to empower women throughout the country.
“Wherever I go in life I will aspire to be actively involved in empowering women, be it through faith, business, culture, fashion or creativity.”
