Grace Masena, one of the three recipients of Afrika Tikkun’s Community Builder Award, is an inspiration to her peers. This Diepsloot resident was a victim of abuse by her husband for almost 15 years. After sustaining injuries from her husband that rendered her bedridden for 2 weeks, Grace decided to seek help from social workers. She, along with her two children, moved out of the house and into a small room.
Unemployed, Grace decided to volunteer at an organisation in Diepsloot providing home-based care. With the help of other women, she then opened an ECD Centre (crèche). Although she was forced to close it temporarily in response to the lockdown rules, she wasted little time in getting busy and helping her community. Along with some of her community members, Grace started a soup kitchen. She makes use of different community halls in order to reach as many community members as possible.
Having turned her life around, Grace believes that every woman has the strength within herself to turn adversity into triumph.
