WINDHOEK, March 8 (Xinhua) -- For the past five years, Melisa Louw has been making a difference in her community empowering young disadvantaged girls and giving them hope for a brighter future.
With a goal to help these girls finish school and break the poverty cycle, Louw takes 30 girls at a time and mentors them until they finish school.
"Namibia is home to a large population of underprivileged and impoverished women and girls. This generation of young women is facing obstacles far greater than most can imagine, so our role is to help ease those challenges... We help vulnerable girls meaning they come from very disadvantaged families where parents are either unemployed or they earn less that 3,000 Namibian dollars (200 U.S. dollars) a month," Louw said.
Working under the City of Windhoek Municipality, Louw provides counselling, material support such as toiletries and school uniforms.
"We are trying to show these girls that it does not matter where you come from, you can achieve greatness no matter your circumstances. We keep an eye out for bursaries so that once they finish secondary school they can go to university," Louw said.
Of the 30 girls she is currently mentoring, two are in grade 11 and will be finishing school next year.
"We are teaching these girls to be independent and be able to take care of not only themselves but their families. By receiving an education, the girls will have same opportunities as their male counterparts," Louw said.
During the 10th Pan-African Women's Organization (PAWO) congress last week in Windhoek, the group called for enhanced efforts to empower African women economically.
PAWO President Assetou Koite called for a maximum investment in women to reduce discrimination and enhance their participation in social issues.
She also asked called for Africa to create an enabling environment for women and girls, including those in rural areas, by ensuring that they participated in the bottom-top approach to eradicate poverty.
"Economic empowerment on the African continent can only be attained if women occupy high political and social positions. We must make efforts in a number of areas to ensure women achieve education and also take advantage of the emerging opportunities in science and technology. We must eliminate the obstacles and discrimination women face in terms of access to financing." Koite said.
In a statement to commemorate International Women's Day, Southern African Development Community (SADC) executive secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax said gender equality remains a priority in the SADC region.
"Challenges continue to hamper efforts to attain gender parity particularly in the political sector, and women continue to experience inequalities in different spheres of life. For example, their representation in politics and decision-making processes remains below the regional targets as agreed by member states when gender protocol was adopted, as the regional average remains below the aspired parity, standing at 23.2 percent in 2018." she said.
