Girl Unlimited sparks urgent dialogue on girls’ health and education
As Girl Unlimited hosted its fourth annual high tea, the elegant setting gave way to hard truths, teen pregnancy, HIV risk, and a failing education system.
The Girl Unlimited Foundation hosted its fourth annual high tea on September 27, bringing together business leaders, community members, and advocates to celebrate its work and raise funds to expand opportunities for disadvantaged high-school girls. This year’s theme: Sip with Purpose, lived up to its name, serving not only steaming cups of tea, but also stirring calls to action for the education, health, and holistic development of South African girls.
Read more: Girl Unlimited’s high tea sparks conversation about education and health
Girl Unlimited co-founder Portia Nondo opened the event with warmth and conviction, laying out the organisation’s multi-layered mission. “Yes, we’re raising funds, but more than that, we’re raising futures. The struggles our girls face, from missing school due to basic needs, to lacking emotional support, are real. Our programmes aim to fill these gaps and provide opportunities that empower girls to achieve their full potential.”
She added that the organisation is committed to long-term results. “We want to see tangible outcomes, five or ten years down the line. Girl Unlimited is about measurable change, ensuring that the young women who come through our programme have real opportunities to pursue tertiary education and the careers they aspire to.”
Recognising that short-term projects seldom create lasting change, Nondo, and her partner Batetshi Matenge, designed Girl Unlimited as a five-year journey, guiding girls from Grade 8 through matric. Participants receive science, technology, engineering, and mathematic education, entrepreneurial training, financial literacy, and personal mentorship.
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It wasn’t long before the event moved beyond inspiration into unflinching reality. Dr Lisa Mulenga, country director at Girl Effect, delivered a keynote address that left the room visibly shaken and deeply moved. “In 2024 alone, over 2 000 pregnancies were recorded among girls aged 10 to 14. We must normalise sex education and reproductive health conversations, not when it’s too late, but before girls are failed by silence.”
Mulenga, who has firsthand experience treating patients during the HIV epidemic, warned about the resurgence of HIV risks following recent global funding cuts. “South Africa may see up to 300 000 new HIV infections next year if we don’t act fast. It would break my heart if a girl we’ve mentored contracted HIV under my watch. That’s why I do this. That’s why this work matters.”
Alumni of the programme, Nokubonga Ngobese, shared bold visions for change. When asked what she would do if she was appointed as President of South Africa for one day, Ngobese said she would fix the education system. “Public schools aren’t giving us the tools we need to succeed. I would create opportunities, especially extracurricular, that help us understand the real world.”
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