Resourcefulness in Hard Times: How Women Built Solutions With What They Had
One of the clearest lessons from the ANC Women’s League is their ability to work with what they had, not what they wished they had. They operated under harsh restrictions, limited resources, and constant surveillance, yet they still built networks powerful enough to support families, protect communities, and challenge national policies.
They never waited for ideal conditions.
They acted anyway.
When food was scarce, they created community kitchens.
When health services were limited, they launched local wellness initiatives.
When information was restricted, they established secret communication channels.
When women were isolated, they organised safe meeting spaces.
Their resourcefulness kept families alive and communities connected.
Resourcefulness is not improvisation. It is disciplined creativity.
It is the ability to see opportunity where others see limitation.
It is the skill of building solutions from the ground up.
It is the strength to act decisively even when conditions are difficult.
This lesson is crucial when addressing gender-based violence in the DeafBlind community. DeafBlind women often face systems that are incomplete, inaccessible, or slow to respond. But resourcefulness allows communities — especially men who honour — to take meaningful action even before formal structures are in place.
Resourcefulness looks like:
Learning basic DeafBlind communication to support safety.
Creating reliable check-in routines within families and neighbourhoods.
Connecting survivors to accessible helplines or trusted community members.
Using simple tools — a knock pattern, a tactile signal, a shared contact person — to make protection immediate.
Adapting existing services to include DeafBlind women rather than waiting for perfect systems.
Men who honour understand that leadership is not about having everything.
It is about using what is available to protect those around you.
Resourcefulness reveals character.
It shows initiative.
It shows responsibility.
It shows the willingness to act instead of waiting for someone else to fix the problem.
The Women’s League proved that limited resources do not limit impact.
They built resilience from scarcity.
They built safety from organisation.
They built power from creativity and determination.
For the DeafBlind community, this same spirit can close the gap between vulnerability and protection. We may not have perfect structures yet, but we have the ability to act. And action, even imperfect action, can save lives.
Resourcefulness is not a temporary solution.
It is a lasting strength.
It is a form of leadership.
It is how communities move from awareness to action — especially when the stakes are high.