Downloaded PDFOn 9 August, the day known as National Women’s Day, Boitshepo Wilson, Lesego Mathloane and Boitumelo Mokopane celebrated the day by doing a charity drive. They gave toiletries to women and children that are less fortunate. The drive took place around streets of Sunnyside (in Tshwane) and at an old abandoned building, flat DE Villiershoff that is opposite a field filled with rats. A mother of four in her 40s who stays there stated that “most of us stay here because of the lock down regulations which cost us our jobs and we couldn’t afford alternative places to stay. This isn’t a place to raise a child but at the same time we have no choice since there’s nowhere else to go.”
Boitshepo stated that “we’ve managed to donate 20 packs of pads, 20 pack of bathing soap, 10 toilet rolls, and 10 tubes of Colgate toothpaste. Unfortunately these parcels couldn’t cover all the women as there are more than 200 women, and we used our own pocket money and some donations we got from close friends and families.” Such initiative shows the ability of organising women and this is the initiative that the youth of South Africa must take into consideration and apply.
Boitshepo stated that she would like to start her own charity organisation whose mission will be to serve those in need, more especially women and children who are most affected by poverty. Boitshepo believes that it is frustrating going to school as a girl child without pads as that makes you uncomfortable and that causes low self-esteem. She is determined to work hard to minimise humiliation and poverty for every individual, replacing rejection, failure and depression with hope, love, encouragement and empowerment to uplift our community for those less fortunate. She believes that this drive will restore the dignity and confidence of many children and women.
Boitshepo, Lesego and Boitumelo’s last words were “we need sponsors to further our drive of changing lives of many by making a gesture of love and hope, we need any kind of donations so that we can reach a very large number of people.”
This article was submitted on 17 August 2021. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article (https://karibu.org.za/young-women-making-a-difference/).
