Ms Anesca Moodley stands for the empowerment of women and says no to gender-based violence (GBV).

Ms Moodley grew up in Durban, moved to Mpumalanga in 2017 and lives in Ermelo.

Two strong-willed, independent and courageous women raised her.

She said: “My grandmother and mother always stood and still stand for women empowerment and self-independence.

“Learning from their trials and tribulations allowed me to understand not all women are able to stand up for themselves, especially in domestic situations.”

Ms Moodley believes women need a voice and that women draw strength from one another.

She draws strength from helping others overcome adversity.

Ms Moodley recalled an incident that took place in Ermelo and said: “It costs nothing to help.”

She said she was making her way to her business, Xquisit AutoSpa, at around 2.30pm, after lunch.

“When leaving my house, I normally take a right turn to get to work, but my gut instinct told me to turn left and so I did.”

She had her 14-month-old son with her and the roads were quiet.

Ms Moodley said: “There was a teenage girl walking down the street, passing Pet Dam.

“I saw her repeatedly crossing the road from a distance as she was trying to avoid a man in his mid-thirties, who followed her.”

As she got closer, she noticed that the girl was extremely uncomfortable.

Ms Moodley rolled down the window of her vehicle and looked at her.

“When I asked her if this man is bothering her, she then looked at him terrified and said,’yes’.

“So I told her to jump into the car and she did, without hesitation.”

Ms Moodley shared this story on her Facebook-time feed and said: “God guided me down that road to save a soul from whatever awaited her.

“If you are driving, notice anything out of the ordinary and are able to help, please do so.

“It’s not safe out there for men, women and children.”

She said her stomach turns when she hears of rape and kidnapping cases.

“It breaks me emotionally.”

She wishes she could do much more for women and children.

“I will one day achieve my goal of being a louder and stronger voice for those who cannot be heard.”

She believes that Ermelo is in need of a women and children shelter and that the town needs a support group, for women and children to contact in cases of GBV, in

any form.

Ms Moodley thinks it is a great idea to memorialise the lives that were taken by this pandemic, and to stand in solidarity for those who were the victims of GBV.

The President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, urged South Africans to wear black armbands from 25 until 29 November.

Ms Moodley also said she is most grateful tor her family, her son, grandmother, parents, siblings, spouse, as well as best friend.

“My family is my support structure, they helped me through difficult phases in my life.”

“Without constant motivation and encouragement, I most probably would have veered down the wrong path.”

She would love to have motivational seminars with women of all ages to boost self-confidence.

She added that opportunities are all around us, we just need to have the correct mindset, to move forward towards reaching all that we are destined to achieve.

She concluded: “I aim to provide guidance and support to all who need it to create a better life, for those who don’t know where to begin.”