SFL donates business equipment to girls
By Maria Hamutenya
STAR For Life (SFL), a non-profit organisation funded by GIZ, UNESCO and Volvo, handed over business equipment to girls that form part of the Daughters of Africa (DOA) project in Windhoek on recently.
The event took place at Cosmos High School hall where girls from various schools, including Hage Geingob High School, Cosmos, Jan Jonker Senior Secondary, Immanuel Shifidi, Highline and A Shipena were among the beneficiaries of the Daughters of Africa project.
The organisation, which has branches in Namibia, South Africa and Sweden established in 2007 as a school-based life skills HIV/AIDS prevention programme that provides young people with information and motivation to help them make informed decisions and help reduce risk of new HIV infections among the youth.
With the help of GIZ, the German international cooperation organisation, the girls received business equipment through funds offered to SFL for start-ups. SFL also previously hosted an annual girls seminar in September under the theme ‘Dream it, Be it, It’s Your Time to Shine’, whereby girls who are part of SFL pitched different business ideas.
The Daughters of Africa project under Star for Life offers resources to female learners, who have been negatively affected by poverty by focusing on three objectives: sexual reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence prevention and entrepreneurship.
Acting SFL country manager Foreversun Haiduwa said the equipment was given as an investment in the girls’ future to support the businesses that will be started. The DOA girls received equipment in line with their training and business ideas, with projects ranging from catering, designing, gardening, and bakeries.
Marion Mushaandja, a Grade 11 pupil from Hage Geingob Secondary School, said she was eager to start using the new equipment as her group had nothing apart from their business ideas.
“It’s going to be an exciting experience using the equipment to be able to open doors and make money out of the business we are going to start,” Mushaandja said.
Haiduwa said the equipment will officially be handed to the learners in January to avoid problems and learners were requested to sign a pledge form, stating that the equipment would be in good hands.
He urged the DOA girls to take care of the equipment, not to donate or sell it to their elders or anyone else.
The money generated from the equipment will be accounted for and monitored by the development coach. “Any loss or damage done to the equipment will result in learners being liable and will be forced to re-buy the equipment,” Haiduwa added.