On the 26th May we welcomed five young ladies from Sinenjongo High School in Joe Slovo to our offices. The aim of the initiative is to help girl children explore work and professional opportunities of which they might not otherwise have access or knowledge of. It is a practical step towards enabling them to make the connection between what they learn at school and their future career goals. Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day® enables them to examine their attitudes towards themselves, their aspirations and the opportunities open to them.
Each of the businesses contributed at least one member of staff to be involved in the day as well as a small gift. The day was packed full of activities ranging from panel discussions, office tours, talks on purpose and opportunities for the girls to be in their own TV and audio features.
“I have noticed that some of the ladies were fortunate enough, to come from homes where their moms set a great example for their daughters. However, some of the ladies had the exact opposite, with parents that are not present at all. Because of this, it was a privilege to be granted the opportunity to speak with the young ladies about myself, the company I work for and to be able to give them advice, which will help them in their journey forward” Elzaan Grabie, Grid
“After spending our lunch hour together, it became apparent these ladies were not the ordinary school goers. Their schedule had them at school seven days a week and enrolled in early morning classes. Their learning was channelled for a career in commerce; with studies in economics and business. Theirs was an all Xhosa school where absence or misbehaviour would be physically reprimanded. And they were not frequent users of the internet – with no access to social media” Emily Muller, MFA
The overall purpose of the day to give them access and insight to the working world as well as some encouragement from our very own inspirational ladies. We have received positive feedback from the school, saying they would love to continue being involved with us for future opportunities.
Thank you everyone involved and to those who welcomed them, in their own words “We were made to feel like family!”
