Fiona:
“One of the lessons learnt was that society’s knowledge regarding the 16 Days of Activism and its content is extremely limited but by creating awareness via media advocacy (posters, articles and pamphlets as we have done) this could be easily combated. I learnt how to convey a large amount of relevant information in very simple, but effective ways.
We also learnt the power of the spoken word, the action and the value of symbols, which all culminated in assisting organizations that help abused or HIV positive women and children and which was represented by the red and white ribbons. Silence truly is violence, and in order to act against abuse, we need to speak out and share our stories as victims and survivors of abuse, in order to remove the stigma related to rape and AIDS and in order to help those who have undergone similar experiences.”
Hayden:
“I learned that a lot can be done if people worked together. Taking our group as a reference point, I saw how a few people could come together and with the right attitude and willingness to achieve a goal, can help a number of people improve their lives.
I saw the dedication of people in the group and the work that they produced, and if we could get all South Africans to work together the way that the group did, it would certainly go a long way towards eradicating abuse. It all boils down to commitment, enthusiasm, dedication, persistence and hard work.”
Jennashree:
“The greatest lesson that I had learnt throughout this project was the fact that women abuse is the greatest scourge that is devouring South Africa. It is the worst form of violation that any woman experiences and the process toward receiving help is just as traumatic. Many women are not aware of their rights and are of the belief that the justice system cannot do much for them.
Further it must be noted that while conducting research it was found that although equality is attempted to be realised – it actually has not. Society is still in transition to reaching this ideal. Women abuse stretches across race, class, culture, religion and is the one destroyer of all equality that has been achieved and fought for thus far…
In short, more needs to be done to educate women and children about their rights, and how to access and enforce these rights. Although we have attempted to do this, it was limited by the fact that we were conducting a campaign mainly targeted at students and lecturers at Howard College. We learned how to draw inspiration from each other as women, and how to take a man’s perspective into account in dealing with such sensitive topics as gender-violence, child abuse and HIV/AIDS.”
Leander:
“Regardless of the implementation of the South African Constitution that contains a Bill of Rights which promotes equality, human dignity and freedom, there are still numerous woman and children being subjected to abuse. This is due to the fact that most woman and children fear seeking help because society does not want to talk about violence against woman and children. Our group and many organisations have tried to draw awareness to violence against woman and children especially during the 16 days of activism however; it is up to society to continue promoting 16 days of activism not only during the 16 days but all year through. I’ve learnt that attention cannot only be paid to the issues of violence against women and AIDS on their respective International Days and during the 16 Days of Activism, but rather, in order for there to be significant, tangible change, it must be 365 Days of Activism.”
Vishanta:
“I learnt the following lessons:
To co-ordinate and co-operate;
Time management;
How to harness resources effectively and efficiently; and
How to exploit the strengths of others in a positive way.
I also learnt that we cannot rely on the private business sector to make contributions and assist us in raising funds or creating awareness, that if we want something done properly, we must do it ourselves.”
Tamaryn:
“The proverb ‘change is in your hands’ really hit home with this project. We were given the opportunity to contribute to towards the transformation of our society into one where gender equality and mutual respect can be a reality. I began to understand that we could do this by creating awareness, providing relief to those in need, and using our position as students, where we have access to a large number of educational resources and information technology as well as contact with a wide variety of people, in order to get our message across.
I also learnt that the only restrictions and limitations with a project like this are those that you place on yourself. In order to achieve what you have set out to do, it requires belief in yourself, belief in your peers and perseverance and as much confidence as you can manage. Practically, if you have a broad set of objectives I learnt to break it down into numerous smaller components and tasks, which can be undertaken and completed and which accumulate to form something, in this case, that outgrew even my high expectations.”
Manyano:
“I’ve learnt that while it is important to be able to work in a group and co-ordinate efforts, it is also important to have a so-called ‘Plan B’ and in some instances even a ‘Plan C’. When working with such a large group, and when having to place reliance on people outside the group, consider all eventualities and plan for all possible things that could go wrong. That way, when something does go wrong, instead of panicking, we can just calmly implement the back-up plan.
I’ve also learnt that in the face of such challenges, we discover aspects of ourselves that we did not know were possible, we learn to think laterally and to work our way around problems with what we have.”
Suhema:
“I’ve learnt the importance of staying focused. With such a broad topic it was easy to get carried away and focus on only one aspect, but by clearly stating our goals and objectives, and constantly referring back to them when we thought we were getting side-tracked, this helped to keep us in focus.
It also stimulated and encouraged us to work harder by having the Meeting Reports and by meeting and reporting back to the group and then reporting to our Project Supervisor. This combination proved an effective set of checks and balances to ensure that contributions were evenly made and that effort did not go unnoticed.”
Kerona:
“I learnt the lesson that while some inter-group competition (meaning, competition between groups) is healthy and motivates us to work harder, it is important not to get involved in inter-group politics, and not to get involved in other groups’ arguments, or listen to gossip. The most important thing to stay focused on is our project and to remain true to our beliefs and principles.
I also learnt that setbacks can be overcome, and that disappointments are to be expected, and that every challenge provides us with an opportunity to pull together as a team and work out a solution. The advantage of working in a group is that when one person becomes de-motivated because of a set back, there are others around to encourage that person, and to inspire them and the rest of the group”
“One of the lessons learnt was that society’s knowledge regarding the 16 Days of Activism and its content is extremely limited but by creating awareness via media advocacy (posters, articles and pamphlets as we have done) this could be easily combated. I learnt how to convey a large amount of relevant information in very simple, but effective ways.
We also learnt the power of the spoken word, the action and the value of symbols, which all culminated in assisting organizations that help abused or HIV positive women and children and which was represented by the red and white ribbons. Silence truly is violence, and in order to act against abuse, we need to speak out and share our stories as victims and survivors of abuse, in order to remove the stigma related to rape and AIDS and in order to help those who have undergone similar experiences.”
Hayden:
“I learned that a lot can be done if people worked together. Taking our group as a reference point, I saw how a few people could come together and with the right attitude and willingness to achieve a goal, can help a number of people improve their lives.
I saw the dedication of people in the group and the work that they produced, and if we could get all South Africans to work together the way that the group did, it would certainly go a long way towards eradicating abuse. It all boils down to commitment, enthusiasm, dedication, persistence and hard work.”
Jennashree:
“The greatest lesson that I had learnt throughout this project was the fact that women abuse is the greatest scourge that is devouring South Africa. It is the worst form of violation that any woman experiences and the process toward receiving help is just as traumatic. Many women are not aware of their rights and are of the belief that the justice system cannot do much for them.
Further it must be noted that while conducting research it was found that although equality is attempted to be realised – it actually has not. Society is still in transition to reaching this ideal. Women abuse stretches across race, class, culture, religion and is the one destroyer of all equality that has been achieved and fought for thus far…
In short, more needs to be done to educate women and children about their rights, and how to access and enforce these rights. Although we have attempted to do this, it was limited by the fact that we were conducting a campaign mainly targeted at students and lecturers at Howard College. We learned how to draw inspiration from each other as women, and how to take a man’s perspective into account in dealing with such sensitive topics as gender-violence, child abuse and HIV/AIDS.”
Leander:
“Regardless of the implementation of the South African Constitution that contains a Bill of Rights which promotes equality, human dignity and freedom, there are still numerous woman and children being subjected to abuse. This is due to the fact that most woman and children fear seeking help because society does not want to talk about violence against woman and children. Our group and many organisations have tried to draw awareness to violence against woman and children especially during the 16 days of activism however; it is up to society to continue promoting 16 days of activism not only during the 16 days but all year through. I’ve learnt that attention cannot only be paid to the issues of violence against women and AIDS on their respective International Days and during the 16 Days of Activism, but rather, in order for there to be significant, tangible change, it must be 365 Days of Activism.”
Vishanta:
“I learnt the following lessons:
To co-ordinate and co-operate;
Time management;
How to harness resources effectively and efficiently; and
How to exploit the strengths of others in a positive way.
I also learnt that we cannot rely on the private business sector to make contributions and assist us in raising funds or creating awareness, that if we want something done properly, we must do it ourselves.”
Tamaryn:
“The proverb ‘change is in your hands’ really hit home with this project. We were given the opportunity to contribute to towards the transformation of our society into one where gender equality and mutual respect can be a reality. I began to understand that we could do this by creating awareness, providing relief to those in need, and using our position as students, where we have access to a large number of educational resources and information technology as well as contact with a wide variety of people, in order to get our message across.
I also learnt that the only restrictions and limitations with a project like this are those that you place on yourself. In order to achieve what you have set out to do, it requires belief in yourself, belief in your peers and perseverance and as much confidence as you can manage. Practically, if you have a broad set of objectives I learnt to break it down into numerous smaller components and tasks, which can be undertaken and completed and which accumulate to form something, in this case, that outgrew even my high expectations.”
Manyano:
“I’ve learnt that while it is important to be able to work in a group and co-ordinate efforts, it is also important to have a so-called ‘Plan B’ and in some instances even a ‘Plan C’. When working with such a large group, and when having to place reliance on people outside the group, consider all eventualities and plan for all possible things that could go wrong. That way, when something does go wrong, instead of panicking, we can just calmly implement the back-up plan.
I’ve also learnt that in the face of such challenges, we discover aspects of ourselves that we did not know were possible, we learn to think laterally and to work our way around problems with what we have.”
Suhema:
“I’ve learnt the importance of staying focused. With such a broad topic it was easy to get carried away and focus on only one aspect, but by clearly stating our goals and objectives, and constantly referring back to them when we thought we were getting side-tracked, this helped to keep us in focus.
It also stimulated and encouraged us to work harder by having the Meeting Reports and by meeting and reporting back to the group and then reporting to our Project Supervisor. This combination proved an effective set of checks and balances to ensure that contributions were evenly made and that effort did not go unnoticed.”
Kerona:
“I learnt the lesson that while some inter-group competition (meaning, competition between groups) is healthy and motivates us to work harder, it is important not to get involved in inter-group politics, and not to get involved in other groups’ arguments, or listen to gossip. The most important thing to stay focused on is our project and to remain true to our beliefs and principles.
I also learnt that setbacks can be overcome, and that disappointments are to be expected, and that every challenge provides us with an opportunity to pull together as a team and work out a solution. The advantage of working in a group is that when one person becomes de-motivated because of a set back, there are others around to encourage that person, and to inspire them and the rest of the group”
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