The second annual #PinkPowerDay was celebrated on 2 August at the idyllic Chartwell Castle Johannesburg. The event was hosted by the founders of the women’s movement Tumi Mkhondo and Tumi Deane Makhu. The theme of the day was “Dream. Define. Do” and guests were requested to wear all pink.
Upon arrival, the female guests were treated to some finger foods and warm beverages before, the MC, Ayanda Borotho warmed guests up with a song and encouraged guests to turn to their left and complement the woman next to them. She said, “We take kindness for granted. Let’s just be kinder to each other “.
The first speaker, Ezlyn Barends spoke about how “Empowered women empower women”. Barends founded Dream Girls Academy, where young girls are mentored to become economically independent. This year alone, the Programme has mentored over 100 girls.
Barends described herself as ” a gentle soul who wants to make a difference in someone’s life”. She shared three key learnings from her entrepreneurial experience and the importance of finding one’s purpose, speaking life into other people, and women working with women. Regarding purpose, Barends says she found hers initially by sharing bursaries, entrepreneurship opportunities, as well as encouraging friends and family to continue to develop selves.
Nobesuthu Ndlovu, co-owner of design powerhouse, Burgundy Fly was the second speaker. The theme of her talk was “Building a community over competition”. Her business was started 11 years ago, and went through turbulent times, including the closing of her store in Rosebank.
Ndlovu spoke about the strength of communities. She encouraged guests to never disregard friends and community, and to always be honest. Ndlovu said, “There is power in numbers. We win in numbers, never alone”. Ndlovu told guests that her business was resurrected by online communities sharing posts and helping them.
The third speaker of the day, Winny Vilankulu, spoke to guests about “Breaking Boundaries”. She described herself as a unique personality that’s moved from teaching to the panel-beater business. Working in a, male-dominated environment proved to be one of her greatest challenges.
Vilankulu is the owner of a panel-beating company that has struggled to earn respect amongst her equals. She spoke about the trials faced by the changing of ownership of her company, and how it took 11 years to reacquire her company’s accreditation. In that time, however, she accomplished the impossible and now has accreditation with 11 manufacturers.
Vilakankulu said that growing her business besides the arrogance of her contemporaries taught her that, women must be able to assert themselves in male-dominated spaces. Today, Sanlam is one of her biggest clients.”As women, nothing is impossible for us. We just go there and make it”, said Vilankulu.
“Pink Power Day celebrates and encourages women to support, connect and be inspired by other women outside the corporate environment. We aim to empower one another in a fun-filled scenery of amazing speakers, beauty treatments, exhibitors and great entertainment” concludes Tumi Makhu, Co-founder of Pink Power.
