Pioneer to support Wheat Trust, lunch in Cape Town

Yvonne Chaka Chaka

WHEAT will hold a gala lunch at the CTICC at noon on 16 May 2013 to raise further funds towards this project. This event, supported by Pioneer Foods' Education & Community Trust and Pick n Pay, offers inspiring speakers, entertainment, a goody bag and good networking opportunities.

"Being a patron of WHEAT and one of the founding members of the 1000 Women United Against Domestic Violence Initiative, I believe every South African should get involved in this initiative," says Wendy Ackerman.

"A family cluster is very important and who said beating women will make them straight? If children witness their parents being abused it becomes a vicious cycle which must be broken. Children must be protected," says Yvonne Chaka Chaka who supports the organisation, based in Wynberg, Cape Town.

Further sponsorship

In partnership with Pioneer Foods, WHEAT has initiated the Isilulu project, which seeks to empower women and their partners to address the issues of gender based violence in communities. The Isilulu (a special basket to keep grain) project's major aim is to empower women and their partners to effectively address issues of gender based violence in communities.

"Bringing Pioneer on board empowers us to solicit the support of other stakeholders," explains Tina Thiart, special events organiser at WHEAT.

The results of the Isilulu project will empower 120 women-led organisations to analyse their programmes and identify the training they need to do their work better. Women will acquire the skills to do community mapping and project management including basic financial skills. Women will be empowered to attend various meetings with stakeholders (community police forums, meetings with service providers and local government) and communicate the challenges women face when reporting gender based violence and abuse.

"Informal networks will develop in rural communities where women share information, learn from their experiences and amplify their voices in communities."

Trust's objectives

• Organising a workshop for women leaders representing women-led organisations in all provinces of South Africa with a focus of the hotspots as identified in various studies and providing training in Project Management, community mapping and negotiation skills for the women leaders
  
• Contracting associates to prepare the community map of GBV reporting and identify issues that needs mapping
  
• Grant making to women-led organisations in South Africa to strengthen the organisations, to support their work in the communities and enable them to host their own network meetings and awareness campaigns in the communities. (Call for proposals, diligence and announcements of grants, measure the impact).
  
• Engage with the women-led organisations to map the number of cased reported before 16 Days of Activism and the problems that communities experience as base line study and to list all the support to women in the communities, with the focus on gender based violence. This information will be used as baseline information for the next mapping exercise.
  
• Mentoring and providing on-going training to the women participating in the mapping exercise.
  
• WHEAT Trust grantees - women leading organisations mapping the number of cases reported during 16 Days of Activism and record the challenges experienced in the communities.
  
• WHEAT Trust with partners, developing a training programme that empowers women leaders, police officers, support groups and local government to respond to domestic violence, child abuse and rape in the communities.
  
• Researching, collecting and analysing the mapping data and reporting to WHEAT Trust with recommendation on programme and process
  
• Submitting reports and suggesting training needs, amendments to interventions and reporting to WHEAT Trust the impact of the intervention.

"In 1998, women leaders identified that many women-led organisations cannot access formal funding, although these organisation provide valuable services to women and raise awareness of women's rights entrenched in the new constitution in the country.

"Government, business and local structures recruited many of the women leaders of today, leaving a leadership gap in most women's organisations. The role of the WHEAT trust is to access funding via companies and government and donate the funds to needy women's organisations. The underlying principle for the proposed project is based on the high levels of gender based violence," concludes Thiart.

For more information, call Tina on +27(0)73 201 9079, go to www.wheattrust.co.za or e-mail moc.liamg@ardyehzil to reserve a lunch seat. Tables for friends are R5000 for 10 and company tables are R10,000 for 10, with branding opportunities.