By Khanyisile Mbambo
As the nation celebrates Women’s Day on 9 August, influential women like Caroline Govender, who is the co-founder of the Phoenix Survival Centre, are continuing in their strides to empower females in society by reaching to abuse victims and survivors, assisting them in their fight for their rights and breaking the silence around the scourge of gender-based violence.
Govender has become a household name in the Phoenix, Cornubia and surrounding areas as she stands firm in her support and beliefs for women’s rights and empowerment. A multitasker of note, the presenter of “Women Today”, on community radio station Good News, has been able to spread positivity while inspiring, educating, encouraging and empowering women to remain strong in the face of all adversity.
Since 2012, Govender has sheltered abused, abandoned and destitute women from all walks of life with her personal funds. Not only has she made a difference in the lives of the aged, she has changed the lives of many young women through her counselling and education. She has a desire to alleviate poverty in her community and reaches out to the disadvantaged community daily.
She said: “I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I lost my mum at a very early age, before I was even enrolled at school. Growing up without the support of a mother I struggled throughout life but managed to educate myself. I grew up in poverty and I’m proud of the my roots because that’s what made me the strong, resilient woman I am today.”
Her passion for community work burned when she started a feeding project at the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in 2009. “Meeting women who ached with emotional pain of being destitute due to domestic issues made me want to do something to make life a little easier for them, hence Phoenix Survival Centre for abused, abandoned and destitute women was born in 2012. As a co-founder with my husband, we financed the centre with the objective of protecting women who are abused, abandoned and destitute. I believe every woman deserves a life of dignity and respect and should be given an equal opportunity to become more resilient and independent,” said Govender.
She added: “My hope of rehabilitating broken women stems from some of my own bad experiences as I come from a background of abuse. I faced many trials over the years but I’m grateful for all my experiences, good and bad, as they made me who I am. The Phoenix Survival Centre is my pride and joy, not with conceitedness but the satisfaction I get by assisting hundreds of women who have walked through the gates for assistance, be it crisis interventions, counselling, a temporary shelter, a grocery hamper or something to eat for the day. I will never exchange it for silver or gold. Nobody leaves the centre empty handed irrespective of who they are and the reason they visited,” Govender said.
Govender said that despite the laws that govern women’s rights, sadly women and girls in South Africa, experience the greatest impact of abuse. “We have to contend with extremely high rates of rape and domestic violence. It’s heart wrenching to hear that women are gone missing only to be found dead in a matter of days and these incidents are happening right on our doorstep. It’s so unsafe to even leave our homes in fear whether we will return safe. We cannot be always looking over our shoulders and miss the journey. Unfortunately due to gaps in the system and lack of facilities some survivors turn to drugs to cope with the violence or otherwise suicide is their resort. Many are afraid to report their abuse and end up being murdered by their partners. I believe that we should be custodians of each other and be concerned of the safety of those around us. We need to educate ourselves on violence against women, learn the facts and prevalence, speak out against all forms of violence so that we can fight the scourge of violence in our communities. Women, you should never be afraid to use your voice,” said Govender.
She expressed how she would love to see women in the community change their mind set and start believing that they can set goals, achieve them and that nothing is impossible. “Women need to start believing in themselves – that they have the potential to reach greater heights. Education is the key to empowerment, so be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart and you can live the life you always imagined. Dear women, if u see the moon you see the beauty of God, if you see the sun you see the power of God and if u see the mirror you see the best creation of God. Happy Women’s Month.”
This year, Women’s Day is celebrated under the theme, ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’, a message that Govender strongly believes in.The management and staff of the Phoenix Tabloid join Govender in wishing all our readers and advertisers at happy Women’s Day and prosperous Women’s Month.
