Ratang Bana keeps dreams alive for girls
ALEXANDRA – Ingrid Maredi of Ratang Bana has the best interests of young girls at heart.
Ratang Bana, whose name means ‘for the love of the children’, has started a Dreams programme for young girls in an effort to wrestle them away from the clutches of the new phenomenon of ‘blessers’ that is sweeping through the country like wildfire.
Earlier this year, Ratang Bana’s Ingrid Maredi, was so disgusted by what she called the repulsive behaviour of the blessers, she established the mentorship programme for 280 young girls ranging aged 10 to 24.
Funded by HIVSA, based in the south of Johannesburg, the programme also seeks to enlighten the young girls about HIV/Aids, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), teenage pregnancies and other related diseases and social ills.
Speaking at a workshop for the parents of the young girls and other interested members of the community, which was attended by Democratic Alliance PR councillor Judith Madiakgotla, who described herself as a friend of Ratang Bana; Angels Ngwenya, the regional team leader for Region E, painted alarming statistics of HIV/Aids infections in South Africa.
She said research shows there were 2 363 new HIV infections per week among girls and, in a month that could easily translate to more than 12 000 cases. Though unexplained, she said girls between the ages of 10 to 24 were at a much higher risk of contracting the disease than boys.
Ngwenya said the programme aimed at revitalising dreams for young girls in order to lure them away from the blessers, some of whom she said were responsible for the high HIV infection among the young girls.
“We want the girls to dream of finishing their education and become doctors, pilots, engineers etc. We want to make them resilient and to know they can conquer the social uphill of life through our mentorship programme which aims to empower them with information and knowledge in order to make informed decisions and choices in life. We would also like to see Aids-free girl children in future,” Ngwenya said.
She said projects within the Dreams programme included Vhutshilo, which is Venda for life, and Let’s Talk-Asikhulume. The programme works closely with social workers and the East Bank Clinic on the promotion of good health, family planning, male circumcision, the use of condoms and the prevention of teenage pregnancies, STIs, and HIV/Aids infections.
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