Sebenza is an all-inclusive women empowerment programme which focuses strongly on empowering women/daughters/partners/female-headed households with opportunities to create their own sources of income and become financially independent. Women are divided are taught how to utilise their existing skills (and learn new ones) to create products for which markets are sourced. Seven groups of 30 women is formed and mentored. Thus in total, the programme reach a minimum of 210 women in the community.
Women are still more likely to be unemployed, earn less and carry more of the burden of housekeeping and child-rearing. In South Africa, 23 million people live in households headed by women. These members also face lower employment and income levels. A slightly higher proportion of people in female-headed households do not earn an income (52% versus 48% of people in male-headed households). More women than men are likely to be functionally illiterate across all age groups in South Africa.
By empowering women through education and entrepreneurship we reduce poverty by increasing their employability and enabling them to provide for their families and contribute to the economic development of their communities. We help by equipping them with relevant skills and knowledge in microfinance and resource mobilization and improved literacy levels among young girls, adolescent girls and adult women through support and training.
This project will provide 210 women with financial skills, computer literacy to create an income for themselves and in this way being able to provide for their families and children. It creates a platform for disadvantaged, marginalised women, youth, including the disabled, to come together to share ideas and solutions not just with regard to income generation and related problem-solving, but also to social issues which deeply affect their communities.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
