In November the WHEAT Women’s Fund convened with 38 women of Samora Machel township in the Western Cape . Mrs Sarra Ngolwane and Mrs Pumla Matiwane were instrumental in gathering and accommodating the attendees.
The meeting commenced with brief introductions by both the women present as well as WHEAT staff. Sue Howell, executive director of WHEAT, provided an overview of the WHEAT Women’s Fund, which is a grant-making organisation aimed at empowering grassroots women in low or no-income communities. The primary target groups are women-led organisations in a rural or peri-urban area, who are not yet accessing formal funds, are developing women’s rights and are creating spaces for dialogue around issues such as violence against women.
Sue Howell elaborated on the different types of ‘violence against women’, highlighting the importance of understanding that this includes economic injustices as a result of male dominance in the patriarchal society in which we live. She also mentioned that WHEAT supports grassroots women with small grants She also mentioned that WHEAT supports grassroots women with small grants to empower them and combat these injustices.
The women identified issues facing women in Samora Michel. The following concerns were identified:
- Unemployment;
- The inability or lack of enthusiasm to create jobs or opportunities for women within the community;
- Rape and drugs in the community;
- Domestic violence against women;
- Inadequate and inappropriate housing;
- Litter and sewage;
- School drop-outs;
- Lack of security and high crime rates in the community;
- TB and other illnesses;
- Food scarcity;
- Poverty;
- No access and availability of venues and community halls in which to house community projects;
- Shortages of financial support for students and scholars.
After identifying the issues and problems, the women were asked to break into small groups and identify local solutions to the local problems. The following were identified:
- Group 1’s solution: establishing a crèche.
Challenge identified: The current challenge in the community is that although there are a number of creche’s in the area, many of them do not service the needs of the children adequately and holistically. There have been incidents of the children getting sick, being allowed to sleep on cement floors, hygiene not being observed as well as the general health of the children being compromised.
- Group 2’s solution: establishing a crèche, run by the children’s parents.
Challenge identified: this solution would not only assist with reducing unemployment, but would also ensure that children in the crèche receive the best care given that the care-givers would be the mothers. The crèche could also take care of the elderly as they are often left unattended during the day while their family members are at work or at school.
- Group 3’s solution: establishing a care facility for children.
Challenge identified: The care facilities in the community often do not have adequate and/or appropriate environments for the children. As such, the children’s growth can be compromised. The group therefore sees potential in establishing a care facility that will provide an enabling and conducive environment for growth.
- Group 4’s solution: youth skills development centre.
Challenge identified: The youth in the community often end up being recruited by gangs due to a variety of circumstances such as dropping out of school, abusing drugs and alcohol or the lack of money etc. This group therefore felt that more youth skills development centres should be instituted. These would facilitate an environment where the youth are kept busy and are engaging in beneficial extra-curricular activities. By so doing, the youth can establish income generating ventures as alternatives to the lucrative drug industry.
- Group 5’s solution: encouraging and developing artisans and other skills.
Challenge identified: The group wishes to capture the existing, and encourage the growth of the vast skills and talents that the people of Samora Machel have. These include establishing competitive sports leagues such as netball and tennis to keep the community entertained and busy; as well as encouraging those that are skilled in beading, wire-works and the likes to develop themselves in a creative space.
- Group 6’s solution: establish gardening and baking initiatives.
Challenge identified: Many of the women in the community do not have income largely as a result of unemployment and/or their domestic commitments which do not allow them to seek employment even if they so wished. The solution to this situation is for women to form small groups and projects that would complement their domestic work, namely gardening and baking. These projects could generate income through the sales of the goods and assist with reducing the income gap between men and women.
- Group 7’s solution: start up an educare facility.
Challenge identified: The group noted that many people in the community often lack basic life skills which are pertinent to everyone’s growth and development. And so, this educare facility would provide such training and empower women in the community so that they become more self-aware and gain confidence in themselves and their abilities.
In conclusion, the women were thanked for their motivating and practical solutions to some of the issues prevalent in the township. Great emphasis was placed on the forming of groups where such solutions could be identified for the greater good of the women in the community. The women were urged to continue to engage in dialogue around pertinent challenges, find solutions together and collectively strengthen their impact. She reiterated WHEAT’s commitment to assisting and supporting such groups in their quest for empowering themselves as women and creating women leaders.
The women thanked the WHEAT Women’s Fund for their coming to Samora Machel. They stated that it gave them renewed hope and that they looked forward to many more engagements.
Contact WHEAT Women’s Fund for more info on how you can help to combat some of these issues, or to apply for a grant. Call 021 762 6214, or email grants@wheattrust.co.za.
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WHEAT Women's Fund is a national fund serving to empower grassroots women by making grants available for training and building capacity. We work with community based organisations from all provinces in South Africa, but have been most active in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KZN.
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