Cape Town - In an effort to provide a place of comfort for mothers living in local communities riddled with gang violence and rampant murders, a Scottsdene woman hosted a women empowerment event on Sunday, October 20.
Myrtle Philander, an advocate for women and children, said that the idea to host an event that would inspire and uplift women from the community was conceived from listening to the stories of women around her who had lost so much.
“All we hear and can speak about lately is the painful circumstances we are raising our children in. The murders, abuse and depression is rife in our community and I felt that we deserved more than that,” said Philander.
One of the speakers, Ellen Sias, said that the event had created a platform for women and mothers like her who had lost so much to violent communities, but were still standing strong.
Sias, a mother of three whose two sons were murdered a year apart in the month of October a few years ago, said she still struggled to come to terms with the fact that she never got the opportunity to lay one of her sons to rest after he was murdered more than eight years ago.
“The pain and heartache from losing a child is not one that any parent can easily get over, however to not even know what exactly happened to your child and not bury his body is just too much. If it were not for God, I would not be standing here today,” said Sias.
Also in attendance was murdered 11-year-old Duran Visagie’s grandmother, who sat solemnly as the event progressed.
“To me this was an opportunity to support, offer encouragement and advice. I wanted to do something for women living through such terrible tragedies,” said Philander.
Cape Argus