Young women step in to help others
‘Heroines’ empower black girls from less privileged homes
‘Amaqhawekazi’, translated from isiXhosa to mean “heroines”, is a non-profit organisation built and run by a group of young women who believe that by empowering young black girls from underprivileged homes the nation will be uplifted.
The 14-strong team started the organisation while still in various high schools throughout East London with no sponsorship. They used their own money to start most of the projects they undertook.
“Amaqhawekazi is an organisation that we started in 2015. When we see disparities in townships and underprivileged schools, we try and do a needs analysis, and match their needs to the resources we have. Our primary drive so far has been to supply sanitary towels to young girls,” said founding member Cwayita Kweyi.
Another founding member, Siyamthanda Hashe, added: “We get sponsorships by sending emails to potential funders and tell them what we plan to do. This is how we have been working for the past three years.”
On Tuesday, the group of young women hosted a new programme under their organisation which they have called “the kids nourishment drive”.
This programme aims to cover food insecurity in communities that are poverty stricken.
Hundreds of children from the Mzamomhle community were the early beneficiaries of this programme when Amaqhawekazi handed out nutritious sandwiches, fruits and sweets to the children of the community.
“We had a great turn-out at the handover as more than 500 children received the food packet. The leftover food packets were donated to a crèche nearby, ” said board member Siyasanga Kwinana.
Kweyi said: “Our mentor, Nolundi Kwinana, has opened her home to us since 2015 and we appreciate her continuous support and guidance.”
Said Nolundi Kwinana: “It touched my heart to see a group of young girls put in their time and energy into such a noble cause. We live in a era whereby they have shown such dedication and passion.”..
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