WINDHOEK – More than 90 community members in Henties Bay attended a one-day workshop on HIV awareness and entrepreneurship. The workshop, organised by an HIV/AIDS activist Immanuel Sheefeni, took place at a hotel in Henties Bay last Thursday evening.
According to Sheefeni, the brains behind the workshop, the workshop aimed at empowering people to be self-reliant. He explained that poverty-stricken people are often forced into circumstances that put them at risk of contracting HIV, making reference to sex workers.
“The whole idea of the workshop was to motivate people to make a living without depending on anybody,” said Sheefeni, who is also a businessperson. In the workshop, Sheefeni touched on topics related to HIV awareness, treatment and stigma associated to HIV/AIDS.
He also touched on the fundamental aspects of entrepreneurship and practical methods used by entrepreneurs to succeed in business. He said out of the 97 people who attended the workshop, 55 showed interest of starting their own businesses. Workshop participant, Emilia Uushona told
New Era that she was inspired by what she learnt at the workshop.
“The workshop helped me a lot because I did not know how to start a business,” said Uushona. She added: “we really learnt a lot because he (Sheefeni) inspired many people. He touched our hearts on how he spoke about himself. He encouraged us not to lose hope.”
Charmaine Vries, another workshop participant, said the workshop was timely because she thought of starting her own business about four months ago when she moved to Henties Bay.
The workshop was made possible by Erongo Med, Oluzizi World of Commerce, the office of the mayor in Henties Bay, the office of the mayor in Windhoek as well as the Immanuel Sheefeni AIDS Foundation. Similar workshops are due to be conducted in other parts of the country.