Women in impoverished communities can have dreams and realize those dreams.”
“Everyone has assets, and if we understand what those assets are and how we are able to utilize them to empower ourselves, it is a win-win situation. We drive our own development. I always had the ability to create the life I wanted, but I had no idea how to tap into my power to do that.”
Rabeta Dube is from the impoverished community of an informal settlement in Diepsloot in Gauteng. A community that has a high rate of Gender Based Violence, Abuse, poverty and uncontrolled levels of crime. Life for the better part is rife with residents living in fear. The extension that Rabeta lives in has no access to running water or electricity.
Rabeta was struggling to make ends meet and was a victim of Post- Traumatic stress Disorder due to Gender Based Violence.
She used to sell food on an informal basis but when the Pandemic struck, she had no option but to shut down as she had no proper skills and the business fell flat.
When she was invited to take part in this program, she had no idea that it would change her life completely. During the capacity building she realised that she had the potential to do so much more with her life than she ever realised. She understood that she had the power to change her life and create a better life for herself and her family.
She learnt the power of self- confidence and valuable lessons from personal, to social to environmental and economic assets. She learnt that if she leveraged on what she had available to her, she could empower herself.
She decided to go back to start her business to generate an income to sustain herself. When the President enforced the lock-down after our first day of training, she started her business again by taking a small loan from her friend. She was so excited when she started to sell her kotas as people in the community were buying from her.
When the training program continued and she learnt entrepreneurship skills she was able to operate her business more effectively. She also decided to add different items on to her menu such as chicken wings and chips as well as vienna’s and russians with chips.
She is keen to raise some funds to improve and expand her current micro business.