Makoena Lucy Mashamaite

I was grateful to have been given the opportunity to come to Khuseleka. When I started attending these training I was just accompanying other people until I have heard them talk about similar problems as mine. They talked about issues that I have been hiding and I am now grateful to God for giving me the courage to attend. I was being victimized but I could not realise that. I have learned a lot of things from Khuseleka but the most important I have learned that when you have a problem you have to share it with other people because if you don’t you will end up being hurt. Now I feel relieved as I am able to share my problems with other people. I can help other people with their problem because I have defeated my own problems. I have realised that when you have a problem you have to refrain from bottling your problems inside. The word of God says those who have burdens must cast them unto God; He will carry those problems. I have also learned about business, that when you are selling something there should be a profit so that you can see what you are doing. A person who owns a business must persevere for him/ her to be successful. I have also learned about the importance of saving money as it will yield interest. You must sell something that will make a profit not something that will destroy the business. I have learned ways to advertise which will make a business to be well known. You can also write pamphlets and distribute them in the community or if you want to save money, you can use a word of mouth method.

I started attending in 2013. And I attended all the phases that were offered by Gender Links. I have benefited from a lot of things. I have learned that when I sell the stock I should refrain from misusing the income. I was not able to calculate the profit mark-up. The most difficult thing was to calculate the profit mark-up but i asked for assistance. Before I got involved with Khuseleka, I was just staying at home doing nothing waiting for my partner to give me money at the end of the month.

Now even if he does not send money at the end of the month I can maintain myself with the money I am making from my business. I am a business woman doing it for myself. Yes it helped because before I was working but there was no progress. It helped to create a small garden where I plant vegetables for my family and to sell.

Before I joined the Gender Links program I was physically abused by my partner and he has stopped because now we talk whenever we have problems and we have involved both our families. Personally I am in the position to help any women/children who are experiencing any kind of abuse by sending them to VEP. And the community I live in is been supportive towards me. I now have a business plan, which in the use I am planning to have my own business and by the year 2013 the business will be well established and would employ the community members.