Women serving their food at the event
The update let us know about an exciting event in which some of the women in the self-help groups (SHG) participated. These women were able to host and provide services for the KwaZulu Natal Finance event, and major event with services normally reserved for specialized government contractors.
This hands-on training opportunity allowed the women the opportunity to provide security, transport, sanitation, décor, and catering at the event. This required the Zimele women to become a government-approved vendor, which they did! Contracts were drafted between the women and the partner organizations to safeguard the interests of both parties and to protect the women from being taken advantage of.
Women serving dinner
Once the women were recognized as an approved vendor, they were given the go-ahead to start planning. The women then invested their own money that they’ve been saving up in their SHGs to purchase the training and materials needed to host this large-scale event. They raised nearly $10,000, mostly their own money, to go into the event! This was nothing short of a miracle, as most of the women are only able save about 25 cents per week.
Everyone present at the finance event was impressed by the levels of excellence and service provided. The event was incredibly successful, as the women received returns of more than 2.5 times what they invested!
What exciting news this is! We are so pleased that God has blessed these women in such a great way through our partnership with Zimele.
