A convening is a gathering of a number of community women and development stakeholders. Convenings offer a platform for grassroots women to learn and talk about topics that affect them. WHEAT Trust also connects local women with their local leaders and organisations to facilitate networking. This is an ongoing programme where WHEAT Trust holds a convening in different provinces and invites women to gather at a central venue. Convenings are an important aspect of WHEAT's strategy to build and maintain relationships with new and existing grantees in the various provinces of South Africa.  During 2012 WHEAT hosted eight convenings in seven provinces of South Africa.  Our last convening was held in Cape Town. During the first half of 2012 our convenings were also used as part of the data collection for the research project WHEAT conducted in partnership with the AWDF.  During these five convenings in the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo, we reached over 80 women from 59 women's organisations.

The event was organised by staff members and representatives of the Umzimvelo Agriculture School and Umzimvelo Youth Club.  (meaning from house of nature).

We also received support from the Agriculture Department of the Gert Sibanda District. This was the first Grantee Convening hosted by WHEAT Trust in Ermelo. The meeting was attended by 150 Women. Many of the organisations are not formally registered and they have express their need of more capacity building and leadership development. Our informal mapping also confirmed that there are not many programmes addressing Gender Based violence.

Our keynote speaker – Virginia Mngomeculu a pastor, business women and motivational speaker shared her experiences and details of meetings for the next six months in the region. Emma Mahlangu, the Centre Manager welcomed all the delegates at the event and offered the use of the venue for all future meetings of WHEAT Trust. The women agreed to host an 16 days event on 5th December at the hall.

Our sincere appreciation to Billy Lloyd (principal of Umzimvelo) and Judith Sisane of the Dept of Agriculture for the event management.

We confirm that four (4) organisations have indicated that they are organising Awareness Campaigns during 16 days of activism. Included is a youth awareness program for young women.

We also met delegates from 3 existing Grantees of WHEAT Trust who are also keen to be included in the GBV program. Isilulu.

Empower women and their partners to effectively address issues of gender based violence in communities – Break the silence, take action and share our experiences! Traditionally, as is still, maize is a staple food and as a seasonal crop, it needs careful storage and ideally this should be elevated off the ground to avoid it being spoilt or eaten by mice. Storing it in a small hut like structure on stilts called 'inqolobane', special baskets were used and in singular form - isilulu. 

WHEAT Trust has many grantee partners in the Eastern Cape, but the province is big and the pilot programme did not include support for grantee travel (small amounts only).  We selected to work with a group of grantees in East London area. The grantee partners in that area is very diverse and include groups that represent rural communities, youth groups, LGTI sector and one of our network organisers. The event was held on Friday 23 November and was held in the municipal hall in East London Oxford Street.

The meeting was attended by 43 people and included a strong representative of women who organise awareness campaigns on Gender Based Violence and six WHEAT Trust Grantee partners. The participants at the meeting reported police brutality and requested joint action and support for action. The present program was well received by the attendance and there was support for mapping the activities and experiences of women during the 16days of activism.

We worked in partnership with Masimanyane Women’s Organisation and a trainer of the organisation presented training to all on ‘how to identify gender based violence”

One of the Trans persons explained life and hardship of LGBTQI sector and a Sex worker shared stories of abuse of women in East London. The attendance asked many questions and the meeting decided to host another meeting to discuss possible interventions and joint action between all partners.

Our sincere appreciation to SHE the WHEAT Trust Grantee partner for organising a wonderful event with very diverse participation and great venue and good food. 

In 2011 The WHEAT Trust had convenings in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu- Natal. Specific locations of the convenings were: Goqwana (Eastern cape) Tulbagh (Western Cape), Ladysmith (Kwa-Zulu Natal) and Kuruman (Northern Cape). Apart from the normal peer networking and information about funding opportunities through WHEAT Trust, each convening had additional themes and activities. In Goqwana we talked about what makes community initiatives sustainable and what are the factors that make community projects to fail. There were also officials from the department of education present that gave advice on how to start a new pre-school. In Ladysmith, Kuruman and Tulbagh WHEAT Trust conducted research into how grassroots women groups survive. In Tulbagh we had the coordinator of “Kare Gude” that gave information about government stipends for people with a matric certificate that train adults in functional literacy. Convenings remain an integral part of the WHEAT Trust programmes. Convenings formalize networks and cooperation within communities. Convenings also give the opportunity to share practical information that concerns women. This year we shared information about literacy, organizational sustainability and project management. Especially for rural communities it is often hard to believe that there are real opportunities with WHEAT Trust. It is important for women not only to hear about WHEAT Trust but also to see representatives of the organisation.