Initiatives

THOMI Africa has been working with the most affected women & girls enhancing the livelihood opportunities for affected communities. THOMI Africa considers that the ability to enjoy basic human rights is tied to access to livelihood. Therefore, all our programmes are based on the belief that all people must have a decent standard of living and where opportunities are available to all without any discrimination.

Our mission is to support the most affected women & girls to achieve major sustainable change in their lives.

The THOMI Foundation’s programmes provide a solid foundation that nurtures the inner strength, creativity and self-esteem of women from all walks of life.

With this base established well, women are able to go out into the world, prepared to handle any challenge with skills, confidence, and grace. They come to the forefront, where they become agents of peace and positive social change for themselves, their families, other women and their society.

How we work:

Whose Capacity Are We Developing?

The first continuum of our adapted capacity development framework describes the range of actors we engage with for capacity development support, or “whose capacity is being developed?”

– Individuals such as civil society leaders, youth activists, change agents or development professionals.
– Organizations include civil society organizations, for-profit businesses and government departments.
– Networks include civil society networks, coordinating bodies at the local or national level, business coalitions and communities of practice.
– Systems are groups such as communities and national or regional groups of actors responding to a common issue.

In order to develop the most powerful local solutions, it is necessary to identify targets for capacity development that have the greatest potential to generate positive impact.

What Capacity Are We Developing?

The second facet of Orange’s capacity development framework describes the range of capacities that we are seeking to develop through our support, or “what capacities are being developed?”

Technical Capacities are the capacities relevant to the specific impact area or development challenge that the actor is seeking to address. Technical capacities may be those related to delivering services to most vulnerable children, managing an ecosystem, developing small and medium sized enterprises, etc.
Organizational Capacities are the skills and abilities necessary to implement individual tasks in a consistent and reliable way. Such capacities include systems and structures for organizational governance, financial management, human capital development, resource mobilization, etc.
Adaptive Capacities focus on the ability to react to changes in operating environment whether due to political, environmental or socio-cultural reasons. Critical skills for adaptation include the ability to plan, analyze and learn.
Influencing Capacities are those skills that enable actors to alter the environment in which it operates. Examples include improved advocacy, lobbying, negotiation and research skills.
The most powerful capacity development interventions, those most likely to support  real change, work on strengthening partner capacities across the whole continuum.

How Are We Developing Capacity?

The third facet of our adapted capacity development framework describes the range of methodologies for capacity development interventions, or “how is capacity being developed?” Capacity development interventions vary from being highly expert-driven to highly participant-driven.

– Consultancy services and trainings deliver expert knowledge and best practices to our partners.
– Mentoring and coaching and knowledge management techniques support the embedding of new capacities within partners.
– Peer exchange activities allow partners to learn from successes and challenges of others.

We recommend an approach that draws upon multiple methodologies and learning styles, customizing these to the partner organization and the particular challenge at hand.

THOMI AFRICA founder has inspired numerous initiatives to uplift and create opportunities for women, especially in rural ar­eas. He has initiated mass campaigns against female foeticide. With female literacy rates abysmally low in some parts of the world, the foundation encourages parents to send girl children to school. At one such school on the outskirts of Mpumalanga, 46% of the children are girls, with the numbers rising every year.

Women are given vocational training to reduce econom­ic dependencies and are given free homes registered in their names. Health education for women covers nutrition, hygiene, and disease prevention, while self-development courses help to instill inner confidence.

The Foundation has expressed its commitment to women’s empowerment on three levels: first-generation education of girls in deprived rural communities and counteracting prejudices against girls and their education; providing vocational training for women in poverty-stricken regions, enabling them to become economically independent; organising a series of Women’s Conferences (WC) to inspire women leaders and raise awareness of women’s issues.

Supporting the girl-child

The Foundation is working in collaboration with the United Nations Women, Empower Women to educate people against the heinous practice of sex selection and female foeticide in South Africa.

Over 14 religious and spiritual leaders, representatives from the government, civil society and the media participated in this event. As a follow-up to a resolve taken at this conference, volunteers have been organising marches to create awareness about the issue in the affected states.

The Foundation also supports specifically girls’ education in rural areas (click here to donate http://www.thomiafrica.org/donateonline/).

Vocational Training

One landmark initiative that has empowered hundreds of rural women is the Vocational Training (VT) project. Started in 2008 to empower illiterate, emotionally abused and sick women, it provides vocational training in skills development, ICT, sewing and embroidery to over 100 women at a time. In addition, they are also taught basic literacy skills and aspects of health and hygiene. After training, many take up employment with the local garment industry while others work from their homes to augment income for the house. More than 2,000 women from 30 different villages have been trained trough this programme.

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