Thapelo Kgomothebe – Botswana

“Never blame anyone in your life. The good people give you happiness. The bad people give you experience. The worst people give you a lesson. The best people give you memories.”

“My journey with Gender Links was quite interesting. I met them through a neighbour; she was very worried about how much alcohol I drank. She told me about the workshops that were to be hosted by Gender Links. Previously I attended counselling at Lesedi Counselling Centre but I was not committed, I attended Gender Links training just to see if it was interesting. During this training they talked about the dangers of alcohol abuse. I was motivated and felt encouraged to change my life. In 2014 I decided to take action and change my life. I stopped going out drinking with the group of girls I used to hang out with. I have learnt quite a lot from the training so I decided to stop drinking and start building a brighter future for myself,” Thapelo confides

Thapelo Kgomothebe learnt about gender based violence and business skills from the entrepreneurship workshops. They worked in groups and this strategy helped. During the training they were told to fill in a form about their intentions. Since Thapelo had a problem with drinking she decided that she had to change her life and stop drinking. Her friends decided to stop hanging out with her as she had stopped drinking alcohol. One of her friends was so impressed with how Thapelo’s life had changed that she decided to join her in the phase three workshop and she also stopped drinking alcohol and currently has her own business baking bread. Now most of her friends have come back and changed their lives.

“I completed my business plan and decided to start a back yard garden with the money I had been wasting on alcohol. I now can afford to take care of myself and buy groceries and toiletries. My business is going well but I am interested in growing it. Currently I have a problem with the shortage of water and with pests. I have to buy water for watering as well as chemicals to kill pests. I am now motivated to be a business woman and I believe that someday I will own a successful company inspiring the youth” she said.

She added: “I have achieved a lot since I attended the Gender Links entrepreneurship programme as I am now computer literate. I have learnt about cash flow and market research. I submitted my business plan to different organisations like CEDA, LEA, LIMID and the banks. I can now encourage others to go for counselling if they are abused or abuse drugs like I did. I have opened a bank account to make small savings for my business and will use it to grow my business. My family and my community are very impressed with how my life has turned out.”

Thapelo’s intention is to grow her business and start supplying fruit and vegetables to large companies like Choppies. She says that if she gets lucky and gets funding she will be able to do this very soon. “I am very happy with the encouragement I got from Gender Links and the skills that have empowered me. I am now a very responsible woman who has stopped abusing alcohol and I am a good role model for my child and other children in the world, she asserts.