From struggle to strength: The BRAVE girls of Manenberg
BRAVE Manenberg girls shared their stories with professional, business and successful women.
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
Brave Manenberg girls shared their inspiring stories of overcoming gangsterism, substance abuse, and personal struggles, showcasing their resilience and desire to live purposefully.
They spoke to professional, business, and successful women at a Women's Day programme at a hotel, at the V&A Waterfront on Saturday.
Tamia Hendricks, 18, who at the age of ten joined the non-profit group BRAVE, based in Manenberg, said: "I wasn't the girl who had everything together. I was very naughty."
She spoke about the hardships of being a teenager, when people expected her to think like an adult but treated her like a child.
"My story is not a sad one, but it is a real one. A story about a young girl who thought she would not overcome her fears," she said.
Pictured right is BRAVE participant Tamia Hendricks, with founding member Audery February, fundraiser and communications officer. With the audience reflecting in the mirrow behind them.
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
Hendricks said: "BRAVE taught me to see my inspiration, my talent, and who I am becoming. There were times when I had to deal with family problems. I was stuck with schoolwork. BRAVE was there."
Mentors professional, business and successful women supporting girls from Manenberg.
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
The group was founded in 2010 by 10 -year-old girls who wanted a safe space at their school.
Today, 96 girls, from age 10, have experienced workshops to build their confidence, learn a skill and become resilient to be leaders in their communities, schools, and lives.
Three of the founding girls - Kelly Petersen, Audery February, and Lee-Anne Jenkins - now lead BRAVE full-time.
They inspire and empower girls to be leaders, support their initiatives, and help work towards building a network of women and girl leaders across the African continent.
More than 1 000 girls from the Cape Flats have benefited from Brave's after-school workshops, holiday and weekend camps, micro-adventures, and road trips across South Africa, Kenya, and the US.
BRAVE alums have received university scholarships to attend the African Leadership Academy and colleges in Japan, Malaysia, and the US.
Yandiswa Mazwana, founder and operations manager of non-profit organisation Masiphumelele Creative Hub.
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
Founding member February, fund-raiser and communications officer, said that young girls were often the second parent at home.
"Mentoring those girls actually makes me feel happy to be able to help those girls achieve their dreams and become something better out of the Manenberg community," she said.
Mentor Viola Manuel, who sits on various non-governmental organisations and companies, said: "Bloom, grow wherever you are planted."
Image: Fouzia Van Der Fort
Guest speaker Tamlynne Thompson, shared a bit about her mother, Lorna James, 63, who was raised in Manenberg and still serves her community today.
Her mother was born in Bokmakierie, Hazendal, and moved to Manenberg, where she grew up.
Thompson said her mother survived coming out of a community where dreams were silenced. She said her mother also survived a difficult marriage while she raised four children.
She became a seamstress, which allowed her to feed her family and her community.
"Let me tell you, she does far more than sew fabric; she stitches love, sews dignity, and overlocks legacy. So on this Women's Day BRAVE girls of Manenberg. You are not your postcode. You are not your past. You are not the voices that told you you wouldn't make it. You are a possibility. You are power. You are the future," she said.
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