Gender Equality Elevator â € “ Born to a leader and born to win. A violence free community

There is an argument as to whether leaders are born or made. Fortunately, I realised that I was born to lead and I was capacitated to lead. In 2006, at the age of twenty five, I formed the Association of Women in Small Business. Some members were very much older than me while a few were younger than me. I am now leading a group of thirty women and a few men. The sole intention of forming this association was to empower women who were oppressed by society in several ways, which is why they are the majority in the association. I felt the need to include men in the association so that they do not feel left out in the process of promoting gender equality. Some women in the association are single parents, widowed, infected with HIV and AIDS, illiterate, single and married. I embraced all of them as one, with common goals. In the year 2010, I looked for affiliates and we joined the Lesotho Council of NGOâ € ™s. This is where we started sharing the vision of promoting gender equality and empowering women both socially and economically. This association is a non â € “profit making organisation. It was intended to improve small businesses and create small businesses as one of the livelihoods strategies.We were further invited by the International Labour Organisationâ € ™s project on Women Entrepreneurship and Gender Equality (WEDGE). This is where I was certified as an accredited trainer in Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED) and capacity building. I was also accredited as a trainer in advocacy skills for small businesses and the Women Entrepreneur Association (WEA). This is where I became involved in promoting gender work. Since that time, I have started sharing gender information at every gathering, for instance at graduation ceremonies, at church and many other places.