Woman's Day Event

On 9 August 2008, the women of Mamelodi joined the country-wide women’s day commemorations at Moretele Park, in Mamelodi.

Hosted for the third time by Makwande Connekshin, this event attracted many corporate sponsors namely: ABI, SAB Miller, Distell, Verizon Business, Wiphold, The Body Shop, Winchester Marketing and Mangwanani, among others. Local businesses took advantage of this event to exercise their social responsibility initiative, this included The Youth & Beauty, Lerang Consulting, Siyayenza Communications & Events, Dr. Oscar Mashishi, Dr. Sam Phalafala and Jack Budha.

Special thanks should go to ABI, SAB Miller, Distell, The Body Shop and Verizon Business for having partnered with us consistently in the last three years.  Your continuous and invaluable support to our community has not gone unnoticed.  On behalf of the women of Mamelodi and around Tshwane, your contribution has touched us humbly.
Corporate sponsorship is an essential part of the success for the Women's Day event. Your sponsorship has made a difference in the quality of the event for the women of our community.
 
This was the most interactive event thus far. There was a strong and positive relationship between the speakers and the audience. Brigitte Thompson, a Consultant in Behaviour Management, spoke about Assertive Discipline and Positive Parenting. Parents are no longer taking charge when it comes to disciplining children because they do not prefer to come on too strong and do not know how to take charge. “Take charge and be the boss”, she said. She shared the programme she is currently implementing in most schools in the country to assist teachers to instill positive behaviour in children.

Representing Quest, the National Transformation Manager Kenlynn Hoosen highlighted flexible employment opportunities available for women of all ages, young and old. Her message to the women was to advantage of short-term contracts as they enable one to build-up skills, competencies and a whole host of corporate cultures in a short space of time. There’s a tendency for people to ignore temporary jobs and prefer permanent jobs. Skill development opportunities get missed in the process that would add value in the long-term.

Tryphosa Ramano, Wiphold CFO, reminded the guests that they were responsible for their financial well-being. She encouraged them to take advantage of the shares offered by corporates such as the already announced Vodacom and Ellerines shares. Oupa Mminele, representing Mamelodi Sundowns as the Executive Director spoke about the lack of women leadership in the sports fraternity. He emphasised the need for women to be in the fore-front in sport leadership as it is not only for men. Asked by one of the guests what Mamelodi Sundowns was doing to assist the community of Mamelodi to curb the challenges it faces daily with the youth drug abuse of the substance called ‘two step’, commonly known as nyaupe. He highlighted some initiatives that Mamelodi Sundowns is currently rolling-out in the community, including SOS, but also hinted that more still needs to be done by all, not just the club.

Not on the programme were two local women who requested to convey messages. Mrs. Nkuna, a retired nurse spoke about how an alarming increase in teenage pregnancies and the uncontrollable usage of nyaupe in Mamelodi. The next speaker shared her positive HIV positive status with the audience. She appealed to all the women in the audience to support their loved ones who are living with HIV and AIDS.  ‘The best ARV I need is my family support, without it I will not survive”, she concluded.

A talented Bonolo Molosiwa entertained the guests with her beautiful voice. A definite bright future lies ahead for this young artist. This year’s event was very interactive and informative. The women who attended ranged from young to retired. It felt good to see happy women engaging and networking at that level. Women’s day is for all women and should be celebrated at all levels, not just at corporate. It was a very successful celebration and thank you to all the sponsors, the speakers and most importantly the women themselves – you were all amazing, ‘til next year.

Makwande!

Zodwa Nkosi