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For 22 years, the National Arts Council (NAC) has been developing and promoting excellence in the arts.

Designing wrist bracelets for school learners in her community of Orlando West near Johannesburg led to Nokulunga Tonela (30) opening her own business – Luya Creations, which designs African beaded jewellery.

“I loved beads as a child and, in fact, cannot remember when I started using them to make jewellery,” she said.

Running a business of enhancing people’s beauty is also about boosting their confidence and making them feel good about themselves.

This is according to Beauty Sandt, who is the founder of Bontleful Beauty Spa in Kathu in the Northern Cape. The business specialises in nails and beauty therapy.

School pupils from schools across the country will now get the chance to step into the shoes of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

The pupils participated in the MPC Challenge, which is a school project being run by the Reserve Bank in Gauteng, Limpopo, Free State, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and the North West.

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) entrepreneur Ntando Thabethe (42) is driving her company, Elite Crop, to become Africa’s leading fresh food processing company.

Elite Crop is a successful hydroponic tunnel farm, located in Thabethe’s backyard in Pinetown.

Only launched in 2018, it has already broken into commercial markets locally and internationally.

Thabethe left her mechanical engineering job to open the company, which produces a variety of fruits and vegetables, including dried herbs and fresh, frozen and processed vegetables and fruits.

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide can have a severe impact on a child’s physical health, growth and development.

Children growing up in a household with Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) often feel hopeless.

This is according to Dr Dudu Ngubeni, an occupational medical doctor at the Gauteng Department of Health, who confirmed that all forms of GBVF are a violation of children’s rights.

Abuse survivors are often lonely, isolated and filled with fear. Finding the courage to get help is not easy but there are a number of organisations ready and waiting to support those who reach out.

People who fall victim to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) often think that there is no way out, but South Africa has a number of organisations that help with support, counselling and healing.

Survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) often feel trapped and hopeless. Despite having their dignity stripped away by violent partners or relatives, threats and intimidation from their abusers sometimes make it seem impossible to escape.

But women should realise that they have the power to stand up for themselves, leave their abusive relationships and live their lives to the fullest.

*Sandiswe Gabayi is a survivor of GBV.