Princess Project empowers girls
WHAT started out as a dress-up day for girls in poverty-stricken communities to feel special has blossomed into an empowerment workshop for them to rise above their circumstances.
The Princess Project was started four years ago by 19-year-old Mitchells Plain resident Shanice Appels as a birthday celebration honouring the legacy of her late mother.
“At my 16th birthday party, I decided to share the day with 20 girls from two homes in Crawford and Wynberg.
“But now it has turned into a workshop where these girls are empowered.
“I started the Princess Project to honour the legacy of my mother who passed away when I was nine. She was a community worker who also did a lot for her community. By continuing with it, I am carrying on with her legacy,” Appels said.
She said the project allowed her to cultivate a relationship of sisterhood with the girls, who may have to grow up in dire circumstances and sometimes without a mother or maternal figure.
“My aim with this project is to make them feel special for at least one day by motivating them and making them look pretty. They dress up for the day and they look really forward to it, and can’t wait to brag about it to others,” Appels said.
“I keep my engagement with this group of girls that has now grown to more than 100 across communities on the Cape Flats, including Strandfontein, Valhalla Park, Heideveld, Manenberg and Macassar.
“I don’t believe in going back to them once a year only to leave them again and return for a one-time occasion. I have grown as close to them as if they are my sisters and their families have become my own.”
Appels, who also heads an anti-rape online campaign on Facebook, where she poses with powerful motivational messages, celebrates the Princess Project on May 9 every year.
“My emphasis this year is on sanitary towel donations, because many of these girls cannot afford sanitary towels, which strips them of their dignity. They miss out on school when they are on their cycle which is not right.
“They are such respectful girls and are very brave,” she said.
Appels has appealed for any donations towards the Princess Project.
“I don’t have a fixed drop-off point yet, but am more than willing to collect. Our girls should not have to scurry every month or stand in long queues at clinics for sanitary towels.”
Anyone who wishes to donate to the Princess Project can call Appels on 0715835467.