The bench in Glenmore, which was officially launched on the commemoration of the 70th year of Women’s Day, forms part of a larger, ongoing project that’s not only going national, but is being embraced as far afield as Istanbul in Turkey, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and the continent.
Barbara Lawrence-Strydom donated the bench as her personal project and chose the ecobricks method which birthed the In-Visible Women ecHo Bench Project, now uniquely placed to connect people from the ground up, all the way to the top. Barbara was raised on the South Coast so starting at home where her story begins and reaching the world continues the journey of small beginnings for great impact together.
The InVisible Women ecHo Bench Project has been spearheaded by The Africa I See NPC, in collaboration with The Green Net NPC, The African Monarch Group, Centre for Mental Wellness and Leadership, The Mothers Union and with many other voices joining the community.
The project brings remembrance, sustainability and storytelling, where invisible women becoming in-visible through the stories we choose to preserve. Together, we are celebrating women whose lives, wisdom, courage and contributions have shaped families, communities and Africa are honoured through Tribute Notes, and when these connect it becomes an ecHo bench.
The Tribute Note extends that memory into a living digital archive where people can read, contribute their own tributes and keep the stories moving from one generation to another. Technology and eco-bricks bring a seat of heritage through the ecHo.
If you would like to send a Tribute Note to be added to the bench at Secret Sands, please scan the QR code below or go to https://forms.gle/sPLTw8dW3Jooe7be8. We will soon be able to read all the tribute notes on the website, www.auntybafrica.co.za, where organisations and corporates will also be able to Adopt a Bench.
The project will continue until August 2027. If you would like to be a part of the ecHo bench project or wish to sponsor a bench elsewhere in SA or abroad, please contact Barbara:083-632-3240, Joan on 083-266-7953 or, Helen on 084-987-2018.
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