Margaret Hirsch, COE of Hirsch’s Group, recently motivated alumni of various South Africa Academic Institutions & Corporate organisations to take action and support Women’s Empowerment in South Africa. The event was organised in support of the Student Representative Council Fundraising Breakfast held at University of Cape Town.
The fundraiser brought together a vast and informative panel of key speakers noting challenges, actions & change in progress with reference to gender relations in South Africa. Key Speakers also included Nomsa Marchesi, Deputy Shadow Minister of Women in Presidency & Member of Parliament & Thato Pule, SRC Chair for transformation and social responsiveness. Each speaker explored a different aspect of women empowerment & gender challenges by highlighting issues which expressed their passion to drive change in South Africa.
Margaret inspired the audience by sharing stories of growth, “Strive to make a difference – you can make a difference by programming your mind & success will follow” she said. She shared the success story of Siamthanda Mthazi that started with Hirsch’s Cape Town store as her office. Sia trained her maids & learned business skills with Margaret as her mentor. The small business owner now owns a thriving maids service running from her own premises in Century City and on its way to achieve it’s first million.
Other initiatives lead by Hirsch’s includes the Girls With Dignity Project that supplies young girls with the resource of a 5 year re-usable sanitary towels. They also empower women in the communities in which they operate to build a business with basic skills such as cooking & cleaning. “Three vital key points to remember when driving your goals are Passion! Hardwork! & Focus! - focus on your seed of greatness, it all starts with you” said Margaret.
The UCT Student Representative council organises various initiatives and acts as drivers for change in the community – for 2015 to date they have raised R350 000 with a target of R750 000 for 2015 they are well on their way to achieve their goal to support their initiatives. To support UCT initiatives contact Greg Keal, SRC Fundraising & Corporate Relations on pmailto:promotions@uct.ac.za.