At the halfway point of the challenge, the groundwork is being laid. To date, seedlings have been provided to 15 women, and two garden sites have been visited to support land preparation and planting, marking the first steps towards reducing economic dependency.

This initiative is part of a broader, multi-faceted strategy. The team is actively running awareness programmes in the four clusters, targeting youth in community halls to challenge the normalisation of GBVF and to educate residents on reporting mechanisms. In partnership with the Department of Social Development and local NGOs, the team is also facilitating a healing process for victims / survivors, which includes transporting them to counselling services and providing access to shelters.

To address safety in schools, the team is coordinating with local police stations to conduct random searches, tackling the root issues of drug abuse that often contribute to community instability.

The Halfway Harvest – why the refresh workshop is so important

The work of the 100-Day Challenge in Amahlathi is a constant motion of distances and details. For the team, the days are a blur of coordinating across a vast geographical area, where towns are scattered and resources are stretched thin. One day, it’s the challenge of finding water for a new food garden; the next, it’s the critical lack of a vehicle to transport a victim / survivor to a place of safety. The work is relentless, a series of urgent tasks that demand immediate attention.

The turning point came not in a community hall or a flourishing garden, but during a mid-point review meeting, on day 50. Gathered together, the team took a collective breath from the demanding, day-to-day tasks to map out the second half of their journey. As they began to list their progress, the seedlings delivered, the awareness campaigns planned, the partnerships forged, a subtle but significant shift occurred. Seeing all their actions laid out in one place forced them to pause and look up.

It was a collective “aha” moment. This was more than just a list of tasks completed; it was a chance for them to truly take stock of their own journey and see the bigger picture they were painting. This shared reflection transformed their perspective. The daily obstacles, the water shortages, the lack of transport, were no longer just isolated problems but were seen clearly as systemic barriers that required a more strategic, long-term approach. The true impact became clearer, too. It wasn’t just about the 15 women who had received seedlings; it was about the trust being built with every visit and every conversation. It was about the confidence instilled in a community that was seeing a dedicated effort to support them.

The concrete impact of this meeting was a renewed sense of clarity and purpose for the remaining 51 days. The team emerged with a better understanding of their progress and a more focused determination to address the systemic challenges ahead. This reflection boosted their confidence. They realized that even in the face of significant challenges, they were successfully sowing seeds, not just in the soil, but in the very heart of the community, cultivating hope and resilience for the harvest to come.