Jacqueline Pillay (39) started Femme Forte to help uplift women the Chatsworth community, something she learnt from her father.

I grew up in a home where we were taught about giving from a very young age. But I found that the charity I continued to do was not sustainable, so we started to empower women.

She started her construction and maintenance company 10 years ago and now employs over 125 people, mainly artisans. The male-dominated sector has given her many ups and downs, but she has persisted. “As someone who has experienced a lot of adversity I wanted to use the skills I learnt and impart them to other women, so they know how to deal with these issues when they face them,” she said.

Femme Forte helps women gain skills such as baking, catering, sewing, beadwork and organic farming. Women meet at Femme Forte every day, where they have skills sharing and training sessions, and also use equipment to make products, which they then sell. She has also used a vast network that she developed from her own work to help the women who are part of the organisation. “From being unemployed housewives, they have now started to generate an income for themselves,” she said.

She said she felt it was of utmost importance to empower women, because they are the backbone of the community. “Woman are responsible for kids so I’d rather focus on them — because if you help a woman, you help a village,” she said.

—Rumana Akoob

Instagram: @Jacqueline Pillay