Wednesday Nights: Appointments with Potential
Every Wednesday night, Annalie Cable and a group of dedicated volunteers host a weekly pop-up soup kitchen for prostitutes on the sidewalk of a main pick-up point in George’s industrial zone. “We just love them, pray for them, and listen to their stories. If they are interested, we introduce them to the Azaria outreach program, but we don’t judge, and we don’t pretend to be the solution to all their problems.”
Holistic Approach to Prostitution
A former schoolteacher and community project leader, Annalie believes in empowerment, not handouts. “Prostitution is a complex issue that requires a holistic approach and commitment to change. Azaria is the first step in a long-term relationship with women who want to leave the lifestyle but feel the odds are stacked against them. If they’re willing, we connect them to people who can help with drug addiction, child custody issues, appropriate training, and ways to earn an income in an alternative way. It is not a quick fix, but there is so much potential and real hope.”
The Dangers and the Safe Haven
Helping women on the street can be dangerous as pimps and boyfriends are usually unimpressed when their income stream dries up. “We have had threats of violence and suffer verbal abuse sometimes, but the greatest danger is to the women who cannot return home for fear of their lives.” To that end, Azaria has a small safe house where women have a real chance to step out of the street lifestyle, rehabilitate, and start earning an alternative income.
Vision for the Future: A Village of Safety
Azaria is also working towards a village of safety where vulnerable women and their children can stay longer, establish a community, and gradually gain the power and confidence to re-enter and contribute to society.
The Birth of Wild Mongoo
The project was launched in October 2016 by Esmé and Neels Meyer under the auspices of the Ethnos Movement International. Since then, the Azaria outreach has successfully reintegrated 20 former prostitutes into off-the-street lifestyles. Annalie took over the reins in 2022 after seven years at the Hope Church Wilderness Heights Community Project, where she had been instrumental in establishing an after-school reading program, a feeding scheme, a clinic, and a clothes bank. “It is incredible how the skills and experience I gained through teaching and programs culminated in the collective services that these women need. I am humbled and privileged to be part of such a life-changing organization.”
Wild Mongoo: Empowering Through Retail
As Azaria regained momentum after COVID-19, the need for a more elaborate skills development division prompted the establishment of Wild Mongoo. This retail-based project empowers vulnerable women by teaching them skills that will earn them an income. Their products are sold online and in a pink-and-pretty retail store in George CBD. Women from all types of vulnerable backgrounds, not just former prostitutes, are trained in a wide range of skills, including sewing, beading, leatherwork, embroidery, and printing. They earn a salary from the day they step into the workshop and while they are still in training, irrespective of their level of skill or experience.
Holistic Support and Personal Growth
“The whole woman is important to us, so they receive counseling, life skills, and business training as well as personal finance advice. We assess each woman’s progress and look at their other talents and interests so they become employable beyond Wild Mongoo or may even start their own businesses. Women arrive here broken but see all around them others who have triumphed over their circumstances. Within weeks of arriving, we see them transform physically, mentally, and emotionally. These significant changes are a true blessing to witness,” says Annalie.
Visit Wild Mongoo
The next time you want to buy something pretty and worthwhile, pop in at the fabulously decorated and pinkest store in George’s CBD. Wild Mongoo is the retail wing of an ingenious empowerment project for vulnerable women. They sell their handmade products online, too. You’ll find decor items, Christmas decorations, corporate gifts, jewelry, pet products, baby clothes, and soft toys.
The equally pink workshop is geared for large orders, custom and corporate designs, and machine embroidery. Take a tour through the workshop and meet the women whose lives you are changing. Visit Wild Mongoo and support this life-changing mission.
