Wola Nani is celebrating one of its greatest achievements to date after winning this year's PMR.africa Diamond Arrow Award for their excellent work in the field of HIV counselling and testing, at the 2014 PMR Awards held in May.
A craft project
One of its ongoing programmes, the craft project, has been running successfully for 20 years, generating a good income, all of which goes to supporting the women and children in vulnerable communities. Wola Nani currently has over 30 crafters who craft various goods made from recycled materials, ranging from tealight candle holders to the popular papier mâché bowls.
PMR.africa have conducted their annual regional survey on the city of Cape Town, an initiative put in place to profile the Mother City as an investment to not only local, but also international developers. The survey focuses on brand awareness and competency, which is rated by 100 respondents comprising of CEOs, MDs, business owners, company directors and managers, and senior local government officials based in Cape Town.
Experienced lay counsellors, literally
Wola Nani was established in 1994. The NGO operates a variety of programmes to support women, orphans and vulnerable children infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Moira Jones, Executive Director of Wola Nani says, "The highest achievement of Wola Nani, which falls squarely within the vision and mission of the organisation, is the existence of a core of lay counsellors who have grown from being HIV+ clients accessing counselling and support groups in Wola Nani to becoming experienced lay counsellors on the Wola Nani staff establishment. The vision of seeing that women living with HIV/AIDS are empowered to live with dignity and hope for a future, is epitomised in those who have overcome the fear of living with HIV/AIDS and are willing and able to reach beyond themselves and support other persons living with HIV/AIDS."