Sponsor a Woman's Sewing Training in South Africa

Dear Supporters, 

Since the beginning of the year, our Women’s Empowerment volunteers have invested much time and effort in empowering the local women in several ways. When GVI partnered up with the local community center in January, our workshop was attended by around five women per day three days a week. During the year, the attendance rate has increased significantly and some days we have over 30 women participating in one workshop. This shows the steady increase in interest and success of the program which has created a positive word of mouth in the community, creating a ripple effect. This increase was a direct result of our introduction of computer workshops in March, a workshop where we teach interested women on how to use Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Once the women feel confident with their newly gained skills they complete a final assessment before they receive a certificate, a useful addition to their CV and job application process.

“If I wouldn’t attend this course I couldn’t be where I am today. Because I am now a teacher assistant. The skills I gained here, opened the doors for me.” – Noludwe

Noludwes feedback shows, GVI’s and the women’s hard work is paying off and Noludwe has now broken the cycle of poverty she was in - one of many success stories.

As the Women’s Empowerment workshops have been such an effective tool to empowerment, a new initiative has started which is focusing on how to use and utilise the internet. The interest in internet grew slowly from the informal conversations after the women completed their computer course. Consequently, GVI decided to conduct a needs analysis with the women to see how great the interest to learn how to use the internet really was, and further, what they wanted to learn. This needs analysis was conducted through interviews with the women, and the results were overwhelming. Every single woman surveyed answered yes when asked if they were interested in participating in internet workshops.

With this guiding our work, GVI Cape Town looked into options on how we could work together with the community to utilise the momentum. Unfortunately, there was no space in the township where the internet was provided for free, which supported our knowledge that there was a gap in the community initiatives in place. Therefore, the GVI Trust will now play a supporting role in financing the internet to be able to provide a safe learning space where the women can participate in the lessons and utilise the knowledge of our volunteers.          

The internet connects, inspires and teaches people daily and is essential for modern business, a platform which the majority of these women have been excluded from. Most of these women have never touched a computer before and even fewer knows what the internet is and what opportunities it has on offer. As need and interest were there, and the benefits it provides by opening up a space to apply for jobs and connect with new markets, its potential to grow the local economy is present. Therefore, on the 17^th of November 2017, GVI Cape Town successfully carried out its very first internet lesson trial, a workshop which will now be part of our weekly routine at Women’s Empowerment.

With this new initiative, and many more plans in the making, GVI continues to make a difference by placing volunteers and interns with local partners who are directly connected to the Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations.

Therefore, GVI Cape Town wants to thank all of you who have participated and donated to our Women’s Empowerment project throughout the year. Without you, we would not be able to effectively empower the women through skills development classes. We are all looking forward to 2018 and continue to be a part of breaking the cycle of poverty through the current and future initiatives at our Women’s Empowerment project outside of Cape Town.

With Gratitude, 

GVI - CT Gordons Bay