Siya and Rachel Kolisi’s Kolisi Foundation partnered with the Saartjie Baartman Centre as well as other local businesses to ensure that power is placed back into the hands of gender-based violence survivors. This was done by creating tote bags containing tools needed to stand up against abusers.
The Power2You tote bags include tools such as pepper spray, a whistle, a journal, and a wallet-sized card with emergency and support numbers to call.
The Kolisi Foundation’s Programme Manager, Alison Claassen, states that the beauty of the Power2You programme is that it is women helping women. “Survivors of gender-based violence will be contributing to helping us prevent violence from happening towards women and children again. The Power2You pack is a tangible resource aimed at putting power back into women’s hands.”
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Lauren Budde, the Foundation’s Partnerships and Resource Manager, states, “The Power2You packs were originally created with paper bags. We decided to move into phase two of the programme where the women have now taken and transformed the paper bags into the woven tote bags. They are manufacturing in total 24,000 bags a year, and 2,000 bags a month.”
Alison adds that through the Foundation’s relationship with the Saartjie Baartman Centre, it was discovered that the Centre had a sewing programme which formed part of the holistic healing programme for survivors that have suffered gender-based violence.
The Foundation also partnered with Exact Clothing and Black Betty Design to revamp the Centre. Exact’s Marketing Manager Waseema Sukhadia shared, “What we have done is a combination of months of planning between Exact and the Kolisi Foundation. We came together and looked at the space… We want them to come in and feel empowered.”
Bernadine Bachar – Director of the Saartjie Baartman Centre – also shared the benefit of the Power2You programme. “What the Power2You hub does and the entrepreneurial skills that the survivors are learning here not only gives them a sense of purpose, a sense of self-worth, they are by themselves creating something, but over and above that it gives them a sense of community.”
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