City opens its window to girl children

27 May 2016

 

About 40 Soweto schoolgirls had a glimpse of how a big metro is run when they visited the City of Johannesburg’s Braamfontein head office on Thursday May 26 as part of the annual “Take a Girl Child to Work” programme.

 

The 40 girls – from Letsibogo Girls High School in Meadowlands and Aurora High School in Zola – spent the entire day at the Metro Centre interacting with top officials and learning about the various careers available in the local government sector, including engineering, urban revitalisation, information technology, science, and finance with specific focus on valuations, town planning and electrical and water infrastructure planning.

 

The “Take a Girl to Work” campaign was initiated by cellphone network operator Cell C 14 years ago to expose girl children to careers they would possibly not have known about, thereby contribute to the driving of gender equality.

 

This year’s campaign was held under the theme: “Dream, Believe and Achieve.”  Speaking to the 40 girls on Thursday, Molaodi Khutsoane, the City’s Head of Group Corporate and Shared Services, said the aim of the day was to showcase the many career opportunities available in the metro.

 

“There are so many opportunities for those who want to commit to working diligently,” said Khutsoane.

 

Yondela Silimela, Executive Director of Development Planning, encouraged the girls to continuously self-reflect and discover what their passions were.  “Find your passion and take your steps in line with it. Use your skills to make a difference in the lives of others because it will nurture the essence of who you are,” she said.

 

Silimela said integrity should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.

“Skills can be gained but it’s important that your integrity remains constant,” she added.

 

Nompumelelo Pelem, a Grade 7 learner at Letsibogo Girls High, said she was inspired by the visit.  “I’m very grateful to have had this experience and to have been given insight into how to best choose a career for me. I see a bright future ahead of me,” she said. 

 

Thuli Nhlapo, a Grade 7 learner at Aurora, said the experience had been invaluable.  “It was brilliant. I wasn’t aware there were so many career opportunities in local government. Today taught me about the possibilities for my future and how I can build myself into a successful businesswoman,” said Nhlapo.