GBVF activists honoured

By Emily Setona

QWAQWA – Kestell-based Martha Mthombeni and Nomuthi Msibi – sisterhood advocates working at Ubuntu Legal Advice Centre – were honoured for changing people’s lives last week.
They said they were humbled to be honoured in this way because the work they do really changes people’s lives, and the gesture will motivate them to keep going.

“The work that we do at the advice centre has allowed us to help a lot of women who are victims of injustice. A lot of women feel safe coming to us for help and this has enabled us to assist them in many ways,” Mthombeni said.

Others who contribute to the fight against gender based violence were also recognised for their work.
Pule Lekhoaba from Ahanang Men’s Forum and Tiiso Mahase from Rainbow Unity Networks (RUN) were also recipients of these awards.

“Being recognized like this shows that the work that Ahanang is doing is impactful and it will inspire a lot of the men who volunteer in our organisation to carry on and not lose hope,” Lekhoaba said in an interview with The Guard.

The executive director of Ubuntu Legal Advice Centre Solly Malakoane said as a human rights activist he thought it would be a good thing to motivate the men and women who work tirelessly to fight the war against GBVF in MAP.

“I decided to organize this event because I realized that our communities suffer tremendously because of this scourge of GBV. The victims are mostly women and this Women’s Month I decided to honour and award those individuals who work hard in this space with certificates of recognition,” Malakoane told The Guard.