Uplifting young women through mentorship

Beaming with pride, 36 matriculant girls graduated from the Global Give Back Circle (GGBC) initiative last Thursday morning.

The GGBC programme was run by Khulisa Social Solution’s Newcastle Branch, where girls from orphaned, vulnerable backgrounds and rural areas were selected to participate.

As part of its initiative to empower the girls, the GGBC integrates mentoring, private sector engagement and government and community support in a ‘circle of empowerment’, guiding girls towards completing their educational journeys, gaining employable skills and finally transitioning into the workplace.

“All the girls graduated with an IT qualification, as well as training in first aid, health and safety, among other life skills,” explained Paul Bushell from Khulisa.

Furthermore, each of the girls had to run a community based project.

An integral part of the initiative programme was linking each of the 36 girls with a female ‘mentor’ to guide, support and advise them throughout the process.

One of the graduates, Nombisa Ngwenya, thanked Khulisa and the relevant mentors for all their assistance.

“We have learned so much about becoming more independent. We have also learned that through giving back to the community, you can make a difference in someone’s life,” she said.

Mr Bushell said Khulisa was looking forward to running the initiative next year again.

“We intend to expand the programme and are hoping to have more than 100 girls participate,” he concluded.