A new leadership program to assist and train promising young women in implementing community projects is in need of more applicants.

The UN funded “Young Women Leadership Program” was a creation of Talitha, a Non Government Organisation, which was established in 2009 to help elevate young women in Tonga.

Vanessa Heleta, the Founder of Talitha, and organiser of the Young Women Leadership Program, says that they have advertised for 30 young women between the ages of 18-25 years to be selected for a training program that will assist them in implementing a community project of their own design and innovation.

She believes there are more promising young women in Tonga who could benefit greatly from the project, who may not have heard about the opportunity and may contact her (vheleta [at] gmail [dot] com).

Since the beginning of the year application forms for the project have been handed out with a set quota of 14 women from Tongatapu, eight from Vavau, three from Ha‘apai and five from ‘Eua.

Despite the grand opportunity, Vanessa says she is dissatisfied with the responses, particularly those in Tongatapu, and has extended the applications deadline. “I am not satisfied with the quality. There is not enough drive. The women applying need to take this program seriously…they just write it anyhow just to fill up the space in the letter. There is no connection. Some write in pencil and red pen," she said.

“But half of the applications have been good, especially the ones from Vava’u…really, really good ones from Vava’u.

“If we are getting really good ones from the outer islands, more so than Tongatapu, then we will have to pick more applicants from the outer islands,” she said.

Training and funding

The intensive full-time program will train and fund women in implementing their community ideas.

 “The 30 selected will undergo a three week training course in Tongatapu to teach them leadership skills. After the training is completed we will send them back into their communities to implement their projects, which we will fund and monitor," says Vanessa.

Award

“At the end of the ten months the girls come back and we will give an award to the one with the most successful project.”

Vanessa has high expectations for the project which she hopes not only will put more women in leading roles but also give birth to community projects which will continue to operate after the ten month program is completed.

 “It’s not about one woman. It will be on-going if they are successful in their work. After the ten months are completed we will continue to work with them. We hope that after the ten months are over the successful projects will continue”.

Decision-making

She said that the Young Women Leadership Program is to empower Tongan women into decision making positions.

“You look at parliament and the district officers, women are under-represented.

“I want women to have an input and say in the community. I’m just a bit annoyed because women are not visible in the decision-making levels, there are a lot of educated and strong women in Tonga but they tend to keep to themselves," Vanessa says.