Women are an integral part of society. We play a vital role in the development and sustainability of society and at Skills Exchange we do our utmost to uplift and empower those in our community by creating spaces for women to share, learn and grow.
In the spirit of Mandela Day, we chose to share our space with Gugs Sisters with Voices (GSWV) and Mmabatho Mokiti, a Founding member of the DreamGirls Academy, where 25 South African women joined the conversation on what it truly takes to invest in your local female community. We were also blessed with the presence of Zintle, Lisa and Bonga; mentees of the personal and career development mentorship programme hosted by GSWV.
Needless to say, the 67 minutes was no less than impactful. The ladies shared their personal experiences on the importance of having a woman or women in your corner. Mmabatho's message that stuck with us - " Iron sharpens irons. Not only do we want to pull out seats for women at our table but we want to encourage and support women to build their own tables. " As Mandela said
"There can be no greater gift than that of giving one's time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return"
Mentorship is one way of providing women with empowering tools that will assist them in achieving both personal development and career progression goals. GSWV's Operations Manager Tatum McGregor shared " There are often things we aren't taught at school and some challenges that aren't addressed at home, our mentorship programme covers a range of topics including self-awareness, mental health and period education. We know that our girls are living under circumstances that they can't control but we strive to create a safe space for each and every one of them, to encourage and support their dreams and goals, no matter how big.
To say that we are more than pleased with how we spent our 67 mins this Mandela Day is an understatement. We encourage all empowered women to continue to empower women within your local community and around the world. Here are a few tips on how you can do just that:
1. Offer support to all women, including the "strong" ones.
2. Invest in women-run businesses.
3. Directly thank women for their gestures, however small.
4. Mentor women.
5. When women support you, return the favor.
25 tickets were sold at our Mandela Day event and proceeds were donated to GSWV. We would like to say a very warm THANK YOU to all those who participated! We are motivated and inspired by your support.
The event is now available for viewing on the Skills Exchange Youtube channel, you can watch it here. We also ask that you contribute to the work of Gugs Sister with Voices by donating to their back-a-buddy page here.
Investing in your local female community is a hand up rather than a handout.
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