Twenty-eight gender-based violence (GBV) survivors, who are housed in the Department of Social Development’s temporary shelters and white door centre, have risen above their situation and reclaimed their lives.
These powerful women completed the three-month Godishanang (lifting each other) empowerment programme, during which they learned sewing skills and did a course in digital literacy of Seta Level 1 accredited qualification at KwaDambuza Youth Centre.
These women were trained through a partnership between the Department of Social Development, Life Line and Nyamukara Empowerment.
During their graduation ceremony, which was attended by MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza, they were provided with all the tools they need to do their work, including a sewing machine, computers with Internet connection, and fabric, among other items.
Nyamukara Empowerment
Nyamukara Empowerment is a non-profit organisation based in Johannesburg. It runs accredited training courses for female GBV survivors.
Speaking at the graduation event, held at Ascot Inn in Pietermaritzburg yesterday, Khoza urged the women to be strong.
We understand where you are coming from. Don’t think that the government is not taking care of you. We do have programmes which talk to this. We believe that providing you with relevant skills which will make you independent, will make you not want to go back to the perpetrators.
The MEC added that if someone made it to the top of a mountain, they had to make sure they pulled someone else up with them.
“Lift another spirit with you. Gender-based violence issues are still there in this province,” Khoza said.
You should not feel like no one is listening. It might be late for the response but at the end of the day we will get responses. I don’t want us to lose hope. We will be attentive. There is one woman or a child that is raped or killed every hour because there are stories that are known and untold ones.
“In other cases, there are those that are known by the elders but they make arrangements to sweep them under the carpet. We are concerned by the cases that are withdrawn. Usually, if anyone goes to withdraw a case, it is because of an arrangement.”
Nyamukara Empowerment director Elelwane Pahlana said they see their programme as a exit strategy for survivors of abuse, which helps them to move forward with their lives.
You are taking control of your future and that is phenomenal. We applaud you for that on International Women’s Day. We are proud of you for choosing to take ownership of your destiny by finishing what you have started a few months ago.
Pahlana said the NGO knew the journey had not been easy. “Some of you wanted to quit,” she added.
“We initiated this programme last year. It is important to support women survivors. It is important that when you leave here you become financially independent. “We are committed to making sure that we play a role in the advancement of gender equity and the empowerment of women and girls.”
