Meet the women carrying change forward, inspired by the legacy of the women before them

This Women’s Month, Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (AWARE.org) is launching She Carries It Forward , a national storytelling campaign celebrating the women whose everyday conversations shape healthier choices in families, schools and communities across South Africa.

Through a series of documentary-style interviews and portraits, the initiative shines a light on the mentors, mothers, teachers, nurses, grandmothers and community leaders whose influence is often felt long after the conversation ends.

For Aware.org, the campaign is about far more than celebrating Women’s Month.

Real change happens when trusted people continue those conversations long after a campaign has ended

“Campaigns can start conversations, but they don’t change behaviour on their own. People do,” says Mokebe Thulo, CEO of AWARE.org. “Real change happens when trusted people continue those conversations long after a campaign has ended.”

Women are often those trusted voices within families and communities, she says.

“Whether as mothers, daughters, sisters, healthcare workers, educators, colleagues or friends, they influence decisions every day through conversations, encouragement and positive role modelling. She Carries It Forward celebrates that influence while encouraging all South Africans to help build healthier communities together.”

She Carries It Forward is inspired by a simple but powerful truth: women are often among the most trusted sources of guidance and influence within families and communities.

Through everyday conversations, encouragement, and positive role modelling, they help shape healthier choices across generations.

This understanding is reflected in AWARE.org’s 2026 Sober Pregnancies Research , conducted with Frontline Research Group.

The nationally representative study found that more than half of respondents turned to a mother or older female relative for advice during pregnancy, compared with just 27% who identified a nurse or doctor as their most trusted source.

The findings reinforce the important role trusted women play in influencing decisions, and highlight why ensuring that this guidance is informed and accurate is essential to creating lasting behaviour change. This especially on issues such as foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

Every day, these conversations happen in classrooms, clinics, kitchens, workplaces and around family tables.

They are the teacher challenging harmful social norms, the nurse reassuring an expectant mother that no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy, the grandmother reminding her family that celebrations do not always need to revolve around alcohol, or the friend who quietly offers to drive everyone home.