Rose Thamae
Health and Safety/Women in Uniform
Nominee's Province:
Gauteng
Project Name/Description:
Founder, Let Us Grow
For over three decades, Ma Rose has been known as one of the more recognisable figures across her south of Joburg township. She continues to inspire and tell her story more boldly.
Ma Rose, as she is affectionately known, knows her calling in this sprawling township is more than her and her family. It’s all about changing lives – and she embraces that.
Her organisation is the first to start support groups for people living with HIV/AIDS – an initiative started when there was a lot of stigma attached to the epidemic across SA. During this time, almost three decades ago, she went on to build more than ten houses, to the benefit of child-headed homes.
“I am an activist and stand up for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and the rights of people experiencing gender-based violence (GBV). I have managed to empower a lot of women in the community, most of these women are victims of GBV,” says Ma Rose.
Some of the women Ma Rose has helped over the years are now care workers in Orange Farm, and that’s more than seventy-five of them who have graduated through Let Us Grow. Ma Rose says some of these women got to tell their stories through Gender Links, and some have been trained to start their small businesses.
She says: “I have a deep passion for developing and empowering people, especially from poor backgrounds. Currently am focused on empowering a group of young men, some are victims of GBV, some are ex-offenders, and some have faced discrimination in the community due to their past.”
Ma Rose says there is still a lot of work to be done, and there is also an urgent need to focus more on young men. “Through such initiatives, I believe a lot of young men will change.”
