“There is power in your story, no matter how devastating” – Oprah Winfrey
It was an exciting day as the Graça Machel Trust, The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Kuhluka Movement witnessed multitudes of people as they came together to host Oprah Winfrey pay tribute to Nelson Mandela at the Soweto campus of the University of Johannesburg on Thursday 29th of November, 2018.
The dialogue and lecture, which was themed Isithunzi sabafazi -Dignity of a Women was to commemorate the 16 days of Activism Against Gender based Violence.
Oprah Winfrey delivered the keynote address, and amid a cheering crowd of audience, encouraged us to tell our own stories.
“There is power in your story, no matter how devastating. There is not one thing that did not happen to you that did not also happen for you.”
The address was followed by a panel discussion which consisted of Executive Director of UN Women and former deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Josina Machel, and Mrs Graça Machel, that was chaired by journalist and media personality Redi Tlhabi.
Josina Machel, founder of Kuhluka Movement, an organisation that advocate against gender-based violence, shared her personal story which detailed how she was unfortunately physically assaulted, resulting in her losing sight in one eye. In response to the tragedy, she established Kuhluka. Josina said, “We have created a dignity pad; a place where women can bring their story and be guaranteed that they will get all the help they need; doctors, lawyers and psycho-social support.”
In her closing remarks after the panel discussion, Mrs. Machel emphasized the need to restore the dignity of all the victims of violence in the world. “We need to stop speaking of violence against women as statistics. Each of those women has a name, an identity. Let us find a place to write every single one of their names so they are never forgotten,” Mrs. Graça Machel.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.