Mentoring future female leaders
ROSEBANK – Non-profit organisation Khulisa Social Solutions, in collaboration with women empowerment initiative Global Give Back Circle which was founded in Kenya eight years ago, have forged a partnership that will provide mentorship support to more than 2 500 orphans and vulnerable girls in various areas of South Africa over the next five years.
The Global Mentorship Movement initiative was announced during a presentation held at Rosebank Crowne Plaza, which informally also coupled as a birthday celebration for Khulisa’s managing director, Lesley Ann van Selm.
“Mentorship offers an opportunity to better leverage corporate social investment strategies in demonstrating how such investment can change lives in communities,” Van Selm explained.
Up and coming hip-hop artist Britt Ruben, better known as Lil Red, offered to entertain guests at the presentation with a song titled <ct:Italic>Dare to Dream<ct:> and performed alongside female pupils from Westbury Secondary School. Ruben composed the piece herself in honour of the Khulisa organisation.
Keynote speaker at the event was Lidemta Kawira from Kenya, who is currently visiting our shores as acting president of the Global Give Back Circle.
“Mentors are the heart of the Circle,” said Kawira.
“They are role models, coaches, or a best friend who walks with the scholars throughout their journey.”
Khulisa Social Solutions and the Circle’s work undertaking is to ‘create shared value’ at a community level through collaborating systematically with the government, the corporate sector, non-profit organisations, small to medium enterprises and the community at large.
The programme in Kenya has leveraged about US $4.5 million (R59 million) in assistance from private sector firms and individual sponsors through multi-year commitments made to each girl in the programme.
These private sector firms include Intel, Microsoft, Ford, KPMG, Deloitte, Citi, PwC, Safaricom, Total and Monsanto.
The Global Give Back Circle process is different from others, in that the typical donor investment in youth scholarships provides a holistic set of assistance to disadvantaged girls by improving their prospects for completing their studies, obtaining a job and embarking on a life-long commitment of voluntary give-back services. It also improves their prospects for personal development, identification of relevant subjects, the opportunity to learn 21st century skills and obtain a bursary.
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