“Strike a woman, strike a rock,” was the theme running like a golden thread through the Women’s Day celebrations held at Sparrow Rainbow Village on 9 August.
Sitting in the shade of a gazebo, the women and children were ready to enjoy the events on the day’s programme.
The day started off with a prayer and the singing of the National Anthem. This was followed by some music performed by Sparrow’s own Marimba band.
The main event for the day was the presence of the Chinese Consul General and the announcement of a donation of sports equipment and financial aid to refurbish the library in the Village.
The Deputy Consul General, Ren Xiaoxia, delivered a short speech to everyone present. She spoke about empowering women through gender equality. She said they were impressed with Sparrow’s dedication to empowering women and children by giving them the skills for self-employment, the ability for self-education and the aspiration for a better life.
She said: “As you may know, the mandate of our Consul General is to promote the ties and cooperation between China and local areas. It is part of our efforts to promote socio-economic development of women with local partners like Sparrow Rainbow Village. It is with great pleasure that I announce the donation of a table-tennis table to complement the sports facility in the village. We will also donate R100 000 towards the refurbishment of the library in the Village, in order to provide a better self-education environment,” Xiaoxia said in her speech.
The announcement was greeted with great excitement by all the residents present at the event.
The Managing Director of Sparrow Village, Kundai Marufu, expressed his gratitude to the Chinese Consul General. He said the refurbishment of the library will include tables, chairs, books, computers, a Wifi system and textbooks in all subjects from Grades 7 to 12.
“A bakery project will also be launched, where the women will be trained to use a combination of traditional African and Chinese baking methods. This will be expanded to areas all over South Africa, but Sparrow will be the pilot project,” Marufu said.
After the handover of the table-tennis table, the day continued with informative sessions about health from the Health Department, single parenting from Child Welfare, a discussion of women’s education by the Department of Education, safety tips by the Florida Police and life skills by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) and People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa).
The day’s activities ended on a high note, with some traditional dance and music by the Marimba Band.
To see the Marimba Band playing,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuDMUhhfvCo&feature=youtu.be
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