North Durban women’s foundation takes a ‘can do’ approach
Natashia Morrison and the other founders, Dawn Hutchison, Brenda Davids and Shanthie Moses, have so far reached into their own pockets to assist where they can while the foundation is in the process of being registered.
FOUR women from north Durban have rallied to form an empowering women’s organisation called the I CAN Women’s Foundation.
Their plans are to alleviate the hardship that women face on a daily basis, provide support by means of counselling and to hold gatherings where women can benefit from advice rendered by motivational speakers.
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Speaking to Northglen News from Avoca, Natashia Morrison, who is one of the founders, said the main need out there is for food or groceries. The foundation is now geared up to focus on issues facing women and the girl-child, and community outreaching and networking projects.
“It is sad to see that so many families are struggling so much that they don’t even know where their next meal is coming from,” she said.
Morrison, who owns a construction company in Durban North, added that her group was inspired by the Biblical verse in Philippians 4:13 that says, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ – hence the name, The I CAN Women’s Foundation.
Speaking about how the four of them met, Morrison said in 2022, they attended a Women’s Day event which, unfortunately, went pear-shaped due to unforseen circumstances.
“We then decided that we will launch a new women’s organisation within our communities. We hosted the first event on August 9 as it tied in significantly with the day that a brave generation of women marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 and handed a petition of protest against the apartheid’s Pass Laws to the old government. Since our 2022 experience, which did not go down well for us, we vowed to test our organisational skills with hosting our own event, and it was a hit,’’ said Morrison.
“At the moment, it is difficult for us to call on the business sector for help, but once we are officially registered, we will start proper fundraising. What we’ve also noticed is that single mothers are struggling to cope, not only financially but emotionally, too. As pastors, Brenda and I can offer counselling. Sometimes, speaking about these issues helps a great deal,” said Hutchison.
Davids said the foundation was also looking to upskill women who come to them for assistance and would like to collaborate with other organisations for advice and opportunities.
“There are many organisations out there such as I CAN who want to help, but we can’t do it on our own. We don’t only want to make provisions for these women; we also want to enable them to provide for themselves and their families,” she said.
The group stressed that any women who is in need of help, regardless of what faith they follow, can contact them for help by sending an email to ICanWomensfellowship@mail.com.
They are also looking for motivational speakers to speak at their next networking event.
Women interested in joining the foundation and becoming part of the community outreach and theme day events can contact: Natashia Morrison on 082 491 7241, Pastor Brenda Davids on 082 679 5941, Pastor Dawn Hutchinson on 078 971 4719 or Shanthie Moses on 078 3100 995.
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