Young women empowered through public speaking

The 17 young ladies who were graduating explained that Toastmasters is a program which teaches public speaking and in doing so builds confidence.

The B.E.A.R foundation, which stands for ‘Bold’, ‘Empowerment’, ‘Affirmation’, ‘Redistribution’, is an organisation dedicated to the empowerment of young women from disadvantaged backgrounds so that they can become the leaders of tomorrow.

This incredible group of girls underwent a rigorous two month program with mentor and past toastmaster’s division governor, Henry Moyo.

They were also coached by Southern African public speaking champion, Jabulani ‘JB’ Mangena and a host of other Toastmasters maestros.

The graduation was the culmination of weeks of training and when Moyo played a video showing some of the girls when they first started, it was astounding to see the difference in them weeks later.

Moyo said, “When I started this program with these girls I understood that I would be teaching them and basically giving back to the community but now I understand that it was actually me who benefited most from giving. I want to thank these girls for actually teaching me more than I taught them.”

At the graduation the girls were also given motivation and inspiration by 2012 Business Woman of the Year, Margaret Hirsch, who told her own story of struggling through hardship to success and also demonstrated to the girls how important it is to know your own self worth.