18 July 2020
It is with heavy hearts that we commemorate the 18th of July 2020, Mandela Day. In the week that commemorates his birth, we see the memorial of his daughter and former ambassador, Zindzi Mandela. May her soul rest in peace.
On the day dedicated to the memory of Nelson Mandela – we the founders of Each One Hold One has chosen to support The Each One Feed One campaign by donating to the cause at https://www.nelsonmandela.org/each1-feed1 . We urge our stakeholders, friend and followers – who have the means to join us.
It is also in this week that the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey reveals that due to the COVID pandemic employment in South Africa has declined substantially and that the effects of this are largest for the most disadvantaged. Inequalities along traditional lines of race, gender, occupation, earnings, location and education have all grown significantly. Women have been more severely affected than men during the ‘hard lock-down’ stages of the pandemic: “Net job losses were higher for women than men with women accounting for two-thirds of the total net job losses. Among those who remained in employment, there was also a bigger fall in average hours worked per week for women than men”. 1
Nelson Mandela had an appreciation for the emancipation of the Women of this nation. When he was our first President Mandela, in a letter to the then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, urged for the government to prioritise the appointment of women to the public sector, he said: “Our country has reached the point where the representation of women is accepted as essential for the success of our policy of building a just and equitable society … “2
The COVID19 pandemic threatens any progress that Women have made during our democracy. We, the founders of Each One Hold One continue to volunteer our time and expertise toward the simple act of supporting at least one other. Our Connect Series focuses on the hard and soft issues impacting Women in this moment. We invite you to join us in the act of giving, today – on Mandela Day, and for every day after.
For more information email connect@eoho.info
Charmaine, Melissa and Kubeshni
EOHO Founders
2 NM letter to Thabo Mbeki, 6 June 1994, SANA, DP Pres Mbeki, box 002, folder 11/1/1
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