Kwa-Thema – The Charisma Music Foundation (CMF) hosted an open day to serve as a fundraiser and career expo at the Kwa-Thema Old Age Home on May 31.
Beverly Andrews, the CMF CEO, said the organisation ran a programme which focused on empowering young people and their craft.
“Our organisation ran a six-month programme that enabled participants to earn a stipend while working eight days a month. We engaged over 400 young participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“The participants worked in various work sites, such as old age homes, disability homes, schools, and crèches, and they taught their craft in different places.
“Their crafts embodied a variety of abilities, such as make-up, beadwork, drawing, dancing and a lot more.
“The open day aimed to thank the programme participants by allowing them to showcase their work to the public. We also called on various stakeholders to connect our participants with more employment opportunities.
“We are a bit disappointed with the attendance of our participants. The open day was about connecting our participants with further opportunities for them to be able to support their families and uplift their craft,” said Andrews.
Andrews said the programme operates in other provinces.
“We have over 2 000 people in different provinces for whom we created employment. We have successfully created over 700 jobs in other provinces. We are struggling to get participants in Gauteng, specifically in the CoE.
“The open day was also about attracting young people to join our programme,” added Andrews.
CMF Ekurhuleni co-ordinator Pricilla Mofokeng said the foundation empowers young people in various ways.
“We hosted the open day and career expo for young people to offer career exploration, networking and support.
The day was also directed at teaching the community about selective art forms.
“The purpose of the fundraising was to raise awareness and support individuals with disabilities and able-bodied people.
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“The career expo was aimed at providing possible transitioning career opportunities to our programme participants, high schools and high school dropouts.
“Furthermore, the day also aimed to raise funds for Kopano disability home, Luncedo orphanage and Margaret Maltman Crèche,” said Mofokeng
CMF head team leader Buti Maruping said they aim to raise funds through donations.
“We are collecting all kinds of donations to assist the organisations we are working towards helping. We appreciate donations such as pre-loved clothing, nonperishable food and monetary donations.
“We aim to keep collecting donations throughout June in honour of Youth Month and Africa Month. All donations can be dropped off at the Kwa-Thema skills centre,” he said.
