Young girls celebrated for preserving themselves

Ubuhle Bothingo hosted a ceremony where Amatshitshi got celebrated and awarded for being able to preserve themselves and for listening to their parents.

At the Entokozweni Community Centre in Moletsane the 70 girls were awarded with certificates and medals on April 13.

The ceremony was held to motivate the young girls and to show them that what they are doing is beautiful, it will not go in vein and that there is enormous support from parents, the community, their leaders and other institutions in the government sphere.

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Founder of the initiative, Tholakele ‘Mandlovu’ Ndlovu says her reason for starting this is her love for children especially young girls.

She wants these young girls to protect themselves from contracting illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy.

“I also wanted to eliminate this mentality that Soweto does not have Amatshitshi by bringing them to Soweto and instilling everything I have learned and know about Amatshitshi but of course with the help of the people.”

Ubuhle Bothingo is an initiative started to get young girls off the streets and to make them understand the importance of saving their virginity till they have grown and can make conscious decisions.

Parents and community members came out in their numbers to honour and support the young girls. They were joined by the MMC for Economic Development, Nomoya Mnisi who respected the invite and became part of the certificate giving ceremony to the young girls.

“When I received an invite from one of the organisers I was very excited because this is a very scarce opportunity in our communities since we come from urban areas and in most instances we only hear about these in rural areas such as KZN and Mpumalanga,” said MMC Mnisi.

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“So, when we got the call that this is happening here in Soweto just around the corner, we thought yep this is an opportunity we need to grab because this is a culture that allows young people to preserve themselves since one of the main contributors to poverty is teenage pregnancy.”

The young girls danced and sang for the audience to showcase all that they have been taught by Mandlovu.

One of the girls who were certificated, Sinenhlanhla Mkhize said, “I hope all the young girls in South Africa will learn from today that it is important to know that keeping their virginity is something they not only do for themselves but will be doing for their parents as well since they are a representation of them.”