MUNASHE MATAMBO
TelOne has launched a girl-child empowerment programme called the Queenmakers Girls Mentorship Programme which will see the organisation enrolling 200 girls countrywide. The program is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility which is meant to empower young girls in High School to reach their full potential through mentorship and training on various life skills.
The program is especially targeted at girls with potential but who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The first group of girls is a group of 100 form three and lower six girls from different schools, including Harare High, Domboramwari High, Zengeza High 1 and Glenview 1 High.
According to the United Nations, of the 1 billion young people, including 600 million adolescent girls that enter the workforce in the next decade, more than 90 percent of those living in developing countries will work in the informal sector where low or no pay, abuse and exploitation are common.
With this in mind, the organization’s goal is to nurture and support the girl child’s talents while turning them into empowered, confident and exposed Queens with enough knowledge about their careers.
TelOne head of communications, Melody Harry told Business Times that women in senior positions of the company have taken it upon themselves to support the girl child in the country and added that it will run from October to August of the following year.
“This group of girls, starting from today, will be attached to a lady mentor from TelOne who will host the girls during their ‘job shadowing week’ and support them throughout their year-along Queenmakers journey. Throughout the year, the girls will be engaged for at least 3 interactive sessions with their mentors and other experts,” said Melody.
TelOne managing director Chipo Mtasa applauded the women in the organization for forming the program. She added that Telone will be facilitating delivery of critical topics and training sessions.
“To the girls, this is your opportunity to see the world through a totally different window. We want you to explore the careers available, we want you to hear other people’s life stories, we want you to have a taste of success. All this in the hope of impacting your life positively so that you are better equipped to make you career and life choices,”
“You are a queen and TelOne is here to help you achieve this” She added.
As a first step of the program the girls were assigned to mentors within the business sector and went through a process called ‘job shadowing’.
