Cape Town - A Bishop Lavis woman is doing her bit to empower people from disadvantaged backgrounds by starting a car wash that employs only black women.
Lynn Vlotman started Dream Girlz Eco Car Spa two months ago to address the need to create more opportunities for young black women.
“I thought about what every girl’s dream is, and what I can do differently for women when it comes to female empowerment . That is when I came up with a different concept, being a waterless car wash. The name Dream Girlz came to life because each and every woman as a young girl has a dream but yet it doesn’t always flourish as an adult,” Vlotman said.
She employed 11 women from disadvantaged backgrounds and decided to use her car wash as a way to drive economic empowerment.
“I use their strengths and also try to educate them in terms of preserving natural resources like water and we try to use eco-friendly products.”
Vlotman believes the business can also educate women about ecofriendly, sustainable ways to run the car wash. “We might not have a drought right now but we still need to preserve water because there are people in certain communities who still don’t have access to those resources we take for granted,” Vlotman said.
Marvelous Piyo, a Philippi mother of three, said being employed made a huge difference in her life.
“Joining Dream Girlz has made a big difference in my life because being unemployed was very difficult for me. With Dream Girlz I come back home with money, I can buy food with my own money and it’s nice to have your money.”
Vlotman hopes that her business will grow in the coming months and hopefully employ more black women.
“I think that we accomplished with the eagerness of these women working for Dream Girlz and even though it is a male-dominated space, we need our strength as women to show you what we can achieve together,” said Vlotman.
rafieka.williams@inl.co.za