Inside Shasha: Heroines Sowing Seeds
March 2022
Dear Reader,
I hope you had an incredible month of March and that you took some time to celebrate women across the world.
This month’s theme at Shasha was, “Heroines Sowing Seeds”, we focused on recognizing the efforts and progress women in our network are making towards developing themselves and their communities. I had the opportunity to speak with one of our scholars from January 2021, Providence Thusabantu (18). She is now pursuing her International Baccalaureate diploma at Waterford Kamhlaba, United World College (UWC) in Eswatini. I’d love to share some of her words as she reflected on her growth over the past year:
“ In 2020, I was just an Ordinary level student preparing for exams. Still, I felt something was missing in my life. I wanted to experience more than just academics — I wanted to explore my passions and interests in a way that my usual academic subjects weren’t allowing me to. At the beginning of 2021, I had the chance to attend the Shasha Bridge Program. My journey after that intentional decision to better myself, continues to surprise me to this day — I was simply under exploiting my potential. My mentors encouraged me to work on my passion for youth advocacy, I have always believed that society could do better to serve young people, especially the vulnerable. We learnt about personal branding and telling our story. That is when I decided my story was going to be one of helping young people access mental health support.
Soon after that I joined a start-up, LiftAfrika, as an Operations Lead. We were developing a mental health application aimed at bringing youth closer to psychotherapists. We qualified for the South African Ideas Festival, where we went to pitch our idea, this is when I was introduced to my entrepreneurial side. I decided to pause going straight into my A-levels. I joined Star Leadership Academy (SLA), a gap year school which helped me hone my skills in communication, leadership and problem solving.
My journey continues to unfold and with each step, I have gathered more courage to take an unconventional path. Here at UWC, I recently decided to switch from Physics and Chemistry to Anthropology and Psychology. This was not an easy decision, as it doesn’t align with the conventional sciences career path I had chosen. I hope to continue to explore my interests in the social sciences, as I see myself making a major contribution in this space for years to come. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Providence’s constant pursuit of self-discovery exemplifies what we aspire for each and every young woman who passes through our program. We are on track to delivering on our promise to train 200 young women by the 21st of April 2022. This is all thanks to the collaborations we now have with Pangani Girls school in Kenya and Challenges World Wide in Zambia.
Managing a Growing Community
by Buhle Ncube
If you look at my LinkedIn profile, it will tell you that I’ve worked at Shasha Network for 9 months. You will see what my role as the Community Manager entails, and this might give you an idea of what I do. That is only 5% of my Shasha experience, as great as the app is, there is so much more that it won’t show. It won’t tell you about the job satisfaction that I have, how this is an organization that strongly encourages creative thinking, and ideas are allowed to flourish. There is great teamwork and community without stifling individuality. It won’t tell you how people are there for each other and genuinely care about your career and personal goals. Or how I am constantly challenged to take on tasks that nudge me out of my comfort zone and help me become a better version of myself.
I’ve often been afraid of jobs where nothing new takes place, where everything is predictable and monotonous. There is never a dull moment at Shasha Network. One minute I can be teaching our brilliant scholars about career research, and the next having a fireside chat with an industry leader or strategizing with the team about how to increase our impact. In between all of this, and more, I get to witness the personal and career growth of the young people who will one day change the world. One of the most fulfilling aspects of my job has been working with young women through the initiative to provide scholarships for 200 young women. It is always a source of happiness when I see more young women apply to the Shasha Bridge Program because I know that the value they will get out of this program will help them in their quest to create the careers they want and deserve.
My work has opened a whole new world for me. A world of endless possibilities and important questions. Every day I learn something new about the future of work and the role of education, particularly in Africa. Are our institutions doing enough to ensure that young people are prepared and ready to take their place in the world? Is the average African youth well equipped with the skills and tools to be competitive on an international stage? What are we doing to raise a generation that is unapologetic about reaching for the stars and taking charge of their dreams? These are the questions that run through my mind every other day. Being a part of Shasha Network means I get to be a part of the answer to those questions. We are opening doors, redefining narratives, and, quite honestly, fuelling a revolution!
PREP PUSH PIVOT
In our first episode of the Fireside Series, I spoke to Octavia Goredema. She is a Career Coach and Author of PREP PUSH PIVOT, an indispensable career coaching guide for women of color in the workplace. You can learn more about her work here.
I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress. Wishing you a prosperous month of April.
Best regards,
Farai
Founder & CEO
