A group of women from Ward 89, which includes Site B, listened attentively and asked thought-provoking questions when their outgoing ward councillor Monde Nqulwana in partnership with various stakeholders, held a women’s empowerment event.
A total of 75 women attended the programme and were given gifts to take home, on Monday October 18.
Mr Nqulwana said the programme was intended for women aged of 35 and 59 in the ward.
He explained that every year they hosted empowerment programmes for youth between the age of 18 and 35 and seniors over 60 – and that this programme had aimed to cater for those in between.
He believes that knowledge and skills can help empower women to believe that they are equal and have the right to live and thrive. He said such programmes were also aimed at helping them to build their confidence and skills that they might need to succeed in life.
He said R60 000 of his ward allocation budget had been used to fund this programme.
“The approach is of this programme is a holistic approach. We want to unlock their potential while empowering them with critical information.
“We are giving a platform where they can ask anything and receive skills that help them to become a better person. We want to leave a legacy where women in this ward feel empowered and have self confidence.”
He said he had also initiated a project which made sanitary towels freely available to women in his ward who needed them.
Resident Nokuthula Yiko said she had learnt a lot about how to go about seeking help and what her consumer rights were. Ms Yiko said she also learnt a lot about how fire fighters work and how they respond to people’s calls.
Veronica Keyise from the City of Cape Town’s consumer protection office which falls under the department of economic development and tourism, said many people were not fully aware of their rights or how and where to lodge complaints when they felt that their rights had been violated.
