Caring for the girl child a must for Jessica

Jessica Mgidi formed non-profit company Ignite a Dream to teach girl children that they can dream – even the dreams that seem scary. This is her story.

Jessica (30) grew up in KwaNdebele, but later moved to Pretoria during her early schooling years. She now lives in Kempton Park where she works as an audit senior at Mazars, an audit firm.

She did her articles with the firm and is still with them. “I align with this firm as they understand women empowerment,” says Jessica. “For me, it is important to see the active empowerment of women within the organisation, and it is a big reason why I stayed with them.”  

Jessica Mgidi with the donation of sanitary towels to Khayalethu Primary School

Jessica’s dream is to become a chartered accountant, which she says has always been her goal since she was young. Even though the journey towards this goal has been long, she is not despondent. “I believe I will succeed as I have learnt so much through the years, having gained a lot from the journey itself,” she says.

Yet Jessica is not focused solely on her career. “My passion is people and as an auditor, I get to live that passion,” she says. “Above all, my purpose in life is to make a difference in people’s lives. I have a deep desire to help my community and am passionate about serving in that purpose.”

Encouraging a wider view

Jessica laments the general state of girl children and young women within her community. She saw a gap as she felt that most of the girls were not dreaming outside the confines of KwaNdebele and the city of Tshwane. “They haven’t travelled the world,” she says. “For them, a bus ride to Tshwane seems to be the ultimate.”

Hers is a community marred by unintended teenage pregnancies where young girls are forced to drop out of school at an early age to take care of their children and families. Jessica worries that this phase in their lives often marks the end of their possible bright futures. “Their independence is curtailed as they are often forced to become very dependent on a man, and don’t usually stand up for themselves or believe that they can,” she says.

Trapped

According to Jessica, the girls thereafter do not dream much about improving their own lives and, moreover, lack the support in terms of activities that could foster empowerment. “After pregnancy, they are often trapped and mostly don’t really believe or know that one can pick up the pieces and move on after a fall,” she says.

A rather different scenario is played out for the boys, though. “They go to big cities, forge careers and move on with their lives,” says Jessica. “A lot is in turn achieved by the men back home.”

Jessica wants to change this narrative and teach girl children that they can dream – even the dreams that seem scary. “I want to walk the journey with them and help them achieve their goals,” she says. “That is how my non-profit company, Ignite a Dream, was born. It is intended to help make a difference in the lives of girl children.”

Ignite a Dream was launched on Jessica’s 30th birthday in March this year. As the founder, she partnered with her supportive parents to begin a sanitary pad drive targeting grade six and seven girls. The drive tries to address the lack of sanitary pads, which in a poor community are most probably unaffordable. The main priority is food. Khayalethu Primary in Boekenhouthoek was the first beneficiary of the drive who will receive pads for the rest of the year.

Not forgetting friends and parents, she also partnered with Pledge-A-Pad, an organisation skilled in giving ‘girl talks’. “They teach the importance of knowing the changes that take place in the body, especially the menstrual cycle,” says Jessica. “It was important to not just give the girls the pads but to also teach them how to use them. It was also important to let them know that it is normal to have menstrual cycles.”

Jessica emphasises that Ignite a Dream is a long-term commitment. “We plan to expand the sanitary pad drive to other schools,” she says. “Also in the pipeline are projects to empower the girl child in reading, writing, education and sport, which will ultimately help substitute behaviours.”

Ignite a Dream will continue to support the current cohort of grade sevens who will be going to high school next year. “We want to see the biggest positive impact on the community of Boekenhouthoek in five years,” says Jessica.

Jessica is a Unisa alumna. She transferred from another university and graduated with a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences in Financial Accounting in 2017. She also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting Sciences at Unisa. This year, she is targeting a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Accounting Sciences at the university, and hopes to continue to define tomorrow.

* By Busisiwe Mahlangu, Communications Coordinator, Department of Institutional Advancement