Pontso Mafethe’s PowerPoint presentation
As Women and Girls’ Programme Manager for Comic Relief, Pontso’s work has much in common with our own. The programme seeks to educate and empower women, mainly working in Africa and Asia.
Pontso told us she was involved in her Zimbabwe school as a girl Soroptimist – so she knows our work and was delighted to come and speak at Conference.
Over 25 years £900million has been raised. Comic Relief works in 70 countries with around 16,000 projects in UK. The charity has touched the lives of over 40million people worldwide.
Pontso demonstrated why it’s Comic Relief by showing the Mr Bean promo video, which added a light touch to her talk. The stark facts about the need for their continuing fund-raising, followed.
For example;
- 70% of the poorest people in the world are women
- 55% of girls are not in school
- Domestic Violence is the biggest cause of injury and death amongst the women of the world.
The vast majority of under-developed countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, where much of the work of the Women and Girls’ Programme is done. The first grant was given to cocoa farmers in Ghana and any profit made was to be put back into educating their children.
Education and health remain primary concerns, with projects, for example, to eradicate FGM.
Comic Relief works on five strands, to create better futures, healthier finances, safer lives, stronger communities and fairer societies. The charity firmly believes that the key to achieving this is Education and Empowerment.
Soroptimists know the reasons why. In a variety of ways, education can pull a family out of poverty. By reducing infant mortality, child marriage and HIV and by increasing knowledge and skills, girls are empowered. They gain respect for themselves and the respect of others in society. They develop the critical thinking skills essential in good leadership.
It is an uphill struggle – there is little financial support for the women’s groups engaged in this work – that is why it is essential to work together.
Pontso showed some of what has been achieved – from supporting grandmothers looking after families destroyed by HIV to providing mobile health clinics and sports programmes for youngsters.
She thanked us and urged us to continue our work and Janet Hodgson presented her with a donation from SIGBI.
Report by Margaret Sandercock – London Anglia Region