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LADIES OF MERWEVILLE CELEBRATED
by WCDOA pubs
by Deona Strydom, deonas@elsenburg.com
TThis year the Western Cape Department of Agriculture selected Merweville as the rural town to host their annual AgriFemina function. The very successful event was attended by 80 ladies, which included women employed on local farms and the wives of producers.
The department hosts the AgriFemina event in a different region of the Western Cape every year to give praise to the women in that area for their valuable contribution towards food production and food security. The event focuses on celebrating the achievements and inputs of females within the agricultural sector and in South African society in general.
The ladies were exposed to a variety of educational topics varying from financial fitness to foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The event was opened with a warm welcome message by Ms Joyene Isaacs, Head of the Department, by means of a video recording. This was followed by a session regarding financial fitness, presented by Ms Merche Davidson from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, who stressed the importance of women in building or breaking the household finances.
Representatives of Stay Safe demonstrated simple self-defence techniques, which the women could use if they were ever to find themselves in a dangerous situation. The nationwide increase in gender violence made this session very appropriate and important.
Ms Marietjie Mouton from the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research (FARR) then highlighted the negative impact of alcohol abuse during pregnancy and its long-term effects. This was followed by a session on early childhood development by Zodwa Douse from the Klein Karoo Resource Centre, which focussed on making time for our children and the use of everyday articles to make educational toys.
The event was ended with a motivational item on breast cancer by the well-known Shimmy Isaacs. Throughout the event the guests were entertained by the local Sion Messengers Band, which put everyone in high spirits. One of the guests, Sara Abrahams, celebrated her 100th birthday and showed the younger ladies how to really dance the ”riel”.
The success of the event could be seen in the positive feedback from the attendees. The department aims to continue empowering women throughout the province.
