Communities unite for Heritage Day

On Saturday, September 24 the Naledi People’s Centre (NPC) combined Heritage Day and that which they are most passionate about – the prevention of gender-based violence.

According to NPC founder and event organiser, Chantell Coulter the purpose of the event was to look at GBV from various cultural perspectives. The event was held at the Lex Mcmillen Community Hall in Davidsonville.

Although representatives from four different communities were invited to speak at the event, only MMC Gareth Brown and Ellen Oosthuizen from the coloured and white communities respectively attended and shared their knowledge on the subject.

“Even though our reps for the Indian and black communities weren’t able to make it, the event was still extremely successful. We also had Mrs Ellery Booth from the Synergistic Covenant Network who played her role as facilitator very well,” Coulter explained.

The group discussed the various approaches one can take from a cultural perspective.

Coulter went on to say they were hoping to reach out to people from all walks of life, and encourage them to join the culturally diverse group, uniting in the cause to combat violence in general in their respective communities.

“We have also come to the conclusion that similar talks should be held in other provinces and have men in the forefront of such discussions. The reality is that all the women-empowerment programmes actually have a crippling effect on men in society. This view came from the men who attended our event – Bishop Eugene Sinclair from Lighthouse Ministries and Jairzhino Marcus,” Coulter said.

She hopes that their efforts will go a long way to assist troubled men and women from various communities. The passionate advocate would also like to thank each and every person who attended the talk and contributed to the success of the event.

If you would like to be a part of the cause, or if you would like to know more, feel free to contact Chantell Coulter on 067 741 9122.