By Louise and the KTD196 Dream Team | Jack of all trades, master of none!
Avuxeni, minjani, umfekile minje! (Hello, how are you? I am well!)
Thank you for your support of KTD196, the children, and the parents. We are able to do so much more because of your support. For example, the Self-Help Group Approach program is a direct response to one of the pressing issues in this province, poverty. So many difficulties are experienced due to poverty. As I have shared before stunting due to lack of quality food, crime, and violence due to poverty, ladies are trapped in a cycle of violence because there is no effective means of support if they leave their partners.
At KTD196 we want to empower women to make the changes necessary in their own lives, to give them a hand up, and to show them a new way to deal with old issues. It is so exciting to have Dikeledi and Mhloti join the KTD196 team and to realize our dream of making substantial changes in the lives of impoverished families we work with.
The program is reaching a tipping point now as reluctant community leaders and members are reaching out to us to establish SHGA in their villages. In the beginning, it was very tough for these ladies because gossip and jealousy nearly stopped the process before it started. Now families are advertising for us the impact they are experiencing. Where the two Community Facilitators were being chased away from certain villages they are now being begged to return.
The money lenders are not happy, which means the two Community Facilitators may be put at further risk but they are so passionate to continue and see their families, friends, neighbors and new friends from the different groups begin to thrive.
They are now entering a period with the groups from last year where the 5 groups of 20 ladies (100 families represented) will start developing small business ideas with a cash flow readily available through SHG. We are changing the face of communities one family at a time.
I hope you enjoy reading Mhloti's (pronounced Mshloti) story.
Thank you for being a part of real change, real impact, and community development at its best.
You are such a blessing
Louise
My name is Mhloti I am from Shiluvane village. I Joined Keep The Dream196 in June 2021 for the program called Self-Help Group Approach (SHGA).
At first starting to work and be involved with the program, it was not easy because I knew nothing. However, going to training really helped me to understand, working in this program help me as a woman as well because I am able to bring change in my community.
Sometimes we face challenges especially in the beginning, with the community leaders (Indunas). Others were very understanding and happy about the development we are bringing and understood very well, and let us explain what we are offering and how it will be helpful to them.
We all know that when there is money people always think about frauds. Nevertheless, luckily, due to the trainings that we had, we were able to explain to them and they understood, and they welcomed us in their homes, and gave us their support to run these programs.
I am very happy with what I am in doing and working for the betterment of assisting women to grow and be financially responsible, care and support their families.
Now they know us as the (SHGA) Ladies and we are very happy with the success of the first formation of these groups and the trainings that were offered to all the groups. Now they all know the concept, run all the trainings, and encourage working together in order to have teamwork so that their groups can function very well and I am very happy with the progress that they have made so far.
Thank you. KTD196 for the opportunity to make us part of bringing change in the communities that we live in through this program and now we are able to support our families and many more others.
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