Help for ‘at risk’ communities

Two women in the Fourways community have joined hands to help communities at risk for various projects to assist those who are underprivileged.

Executive director of Hirsch’s Margaret Hirsch has been hosting monthly Women Working Wonders events and weekly Entrepreneurs Workshops. A recent Women Working Wonders workshop saw two humanitarian activists come together after speaking to their online audience about their projects.

Fourways resident Mpho Mogotsi – founder and CEO of Heal Vibration (Pty) Ltd and Heal the World Foundation – and KwaZulu-Natal resident Catherine Smith joined forces and shared their upliftment ideas as guest panellists to bettering at risk communities. Hirsch also shared some of her ideas for community upliftment.

“We are privileged to live in this beautiful country and to be able to spread joy to communities that may be under economical pressure right now is heart-warming,”

Recently, Hirsch and Mogotsi hosted a matric ball for 210 children from Iterele Zenzele Secondary School in Diepsloot. Both women set out to organise clothing for the boys and girls, fundraise for the room hire and food.

Mogotsi, a life coach, energy healer, gender-based violence activist recently launched her book called Awakening to Truth. It deals in part with the abuse that she endured in a relationship.

“We go through trauma, and sweep it under a rug and we should not do that,” she said.

Smith, general manager at the humanitarian relief agency named City of Hope, gave a glimpse of the project she is involved in, from local shack fires that spread throughout the community, to life-threatening floods in countries like Malawi.

“City of Hope provides aid in many forms to the people in the affected communities. She pointed out that running the City of Hope required business acumen. I found that working with a business coach – in this case Marlene Powell from ActionCOACH – was hugely beneficial to help her stay on track.”