Young girls in Alex have been told ‘not to wait for God to descend from heaven to do things for them’ but to stand up and live their future careers while still young.
This was the advice from one of the speakers at a youth empowerment workshop hosted by an Alex-based youth organisation, One Year Mentorship (OYM) at the Central Johannesburg College’s Alex campus which was held in honour of the late struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
The Mother of the Nation as mama Nomzamo Winfred Madikizela-Mandela was known, was the former president of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) and died early last month.
One Year Mentorship organisation helps young girls in Alexandra identify their talents at an early age through mentoring and coaching programmes.
Founder and chief patron of the One Year Mentorship, Kgoerano Kekana opened the symposium and also announced the renaming of the OYM after former speaker of the City of Johannesburg Connie Bapela, who died in February this year.
Actor and author of the book We kissed the sun and embraced the moon, Rami Chuene, advised young girls from Alex to start identifying and practicing what they would like to become or do for a living one day. “At the age of nine, I already knew what I wanted to be. I participated in school drama programmes in preparation to be a great actor one day.
“I didn’t wait for God to descend from heaven and do it for me, though I prayed every day. Never underestimate your talent, if you want to be a chef one day start doing it now at home,” said Chuene.
Pinkie Numa from the Women’s League Young Women Desk, Johannesburg region, who grew up in the rural town of Cradock in the Eastern Cape, shared her story on how she started working at the age of 12, attended the University of the Western Cape without money at the age of 16, and worked for Barclays in the United Kingdom later on.
“Growing up in rural areas of the Eastern Cape didn’t stand in my way to become a better woman, who I am today. I grew up in a place where I had to fetch water from the river every day.
“At the age of 12 I was already working at a Pep store earning R20 a day, and at 16, I travelled 1 000km from the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape to look for a university alone.
“I worked for Barclays locally and in the United Kingdom. Today I own properties and cars because I refused to be one more girl in a rural area,” she said.
At the end of the symposium, each attendant received a free copy of Rami Chuene’s book to feed their minds with knowledge.
Details: Kgoerano Kekana 074 441 7563; 081 759 4663; OneYearMentor@yahoo.com
Where you part of this mentorship programme and how did you find it? Tell us in the Alex News Facebook page
