In August we celebrated Women’s Day in Gansbaai! 54 Years ago, on 9 August 1956, 20,000 women fought for freedom and equality by staging a march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act of 1950. Since 1994, August 9 is commemorated annually and is known as Women’s Day in South Africa.

We celebrated the lives of 3 extraordinary South African women with a presentation for the children. “Mama Africa” was presented by our own passionate women Leán. The kids sang along heartily to Makeba’s famous “The Click Song”. One of South Africa’s most successful sportswomen, Penny Heyns, was introduced next: She won two gold medals at the Olympic Games in Atlanta and broke 14 world records in her extraordinary career as one of the world’s best breaststrokers. In the arts arena it was Charlize Theron who took to the stage, the first South African to win an OSCAR for best actress (Monster). She is a UN Messenger of Peace, involved in Women’s Rights organizations and also runs her own “Africa Outreach Project”.
Thanks to Glenda and staff at the Gansbaai Tourism Centre for the use of their fantastic conference room!