Choma Dreams Cafés project gets boost from Cell C

CELL C has thrown its weight behind the lauded Choma Dreams Cafés project – comprising 40 innovative youth hubs – to reach vulnerable adolescent girls and young women with HIV-prevention and social asset-building programmes in a safe and friendly environment.

The company donated 100GB of data per café every month as well as free usage of the online magazine Choma for all Cell C customers.

Choma Dreams was launched last year by the NGO HIVSA.

It is funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief and managed by JSI Research & Training Institute and the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, as part of the Dreams Innovation Challenge.

HIVSA partners with community-based organisations to provide safe spaces through the Choma Dreams Cafés for adolescent girls and young women in South Africa to relate to peers and receive positive information about relationships, lifestyle options and health.

“To make a difference in young women’s lives and empower them to be HIV-free, we needed to think differently about how we approach and engage with them, which is where the idea of Choma and the Choma Dreams Cafés was born,” said HIVSA chief executive Yashmita Naidoo,

“So far, we have seen great progress among the many young women who have embraced the café as a safe and empowering space.”

At the launch held at Ratang Bana Choma Dreams Café in Alexandra, Juliet Mhango, chief human resources officer at Cell C, said: “Choma Dreams Cafés complement Cell C’s gender equality programmes that address women empowerment, education and employability.

“These include our acclaimed Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day and the Cell C Girl Child Bursary Fund.”

“Our partnership with Choma Dreams Cafés will connect young people to vital online information, educational resources and other opportunities,” Mhango said.

“The impact of this will be far-reaching. Our wish is to enable young people, specifically disadvantaged young women, to become vibrant contributors to the economy and leading job creators,” she added.

Speaking at the event, reigning Miss South Africa 2018 Tamaryn Green said the theme for the month of June was Live the Legacy: Towards a Socio-Economically Empowered Youth.

“As a young South African, I believe there has been a lot of positive growth since 1976. I applaud Choma Dreams Cafés and Cell C for their partnership that will connect and expose more young people to vital information.”