With the launch of the Web site as well as the digital literacy training, women in South Africa’s Tlhabane Community will be oozing of knowledge.
Launched by the country’s Deputy Minister for the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services Professor Hlengiwe Mlkhize, the site was born out of a partnership between the Department, Deloitte SA, Intel SA, Huawei, Landbank and Telkom SA with a common goal of bettering and improving the lives of women in this community.
This is not all as the women will have their business profile uploaded and shared in various networking sites giving them the opportunity to network within their community.The site will also act as a support mechanism for women who have been victims of gender based violence by providing information of local councillors, police and support groups in the area to assist those affected.
As for the partners, Telkom SA will provide the technical infrastructure needed for the Web site as well as connectivity; Intel SA has committed to provide digital training to empower women as part of their contribution to the project. This will provide a platform to teach women to access information online providing them the ability to network, and access relevant support structures without fear of stigmatisation that has stopped many from seeking and getting the necessary help.
Huawei has sponsored 20 tablets for the first group of women that have received training in order to kick-start the project. Landbank will be donating five laptops and a printer.
The first group of 20 women was trained in December and the second group in January 2014. Training will continue to take place every month and two young women, also from Tlhabane, have been trained to support the Web site and assist in the skills transfer to the community.