Annete Fourie

We launch projects focussed on the upliftment and empowerment of the community and also on building sustainable relationships between various role players in order to be able to reach more people and extend our projects beyond our own direct community. We believe that if you help to change the physical circumstances of a person or family you empower him/her to take the change to the next level by making personal changes to their lives. Most of the times peoples circumstances are just so bad and impoverished that they lose all hope and dignity and literally just give up, but if you can step in and just upgrade their physical circumstances you give them new hope and even a sense of pride. They suddenly have the energy to keep up the daily maintenance of their property and personal hygiene. Our goal is to not just put a quick plaster over a problem and then leave but to take the harder and more taxing route of doing something that has a lasting and sustainable outcome. We do total home renovations, school renovations and host Street Sport for 100 children at a time and use the time to also educate them on their rights and how to be safe. We yearly also do some type of upliftment programme directed at our elderly people – last year we renovated the entire Sick Bay Wing of the Benevolent Old Age Home and contributed goods to all 49 residents. Every renovation project we have done stands as a monument in that neighbourhood as to the commitment and level of care the Da Gamaskop SAPS has for the community. We do not get contractors in to do the work – we have the goods to do the jobs donated and then it is the SAPS Members and volunteers doing the physical work. We scrub an clean and paint and shovel until the job is done and every mucle in our bodies cramping. That is the reason why these projects build trust in the community – they see the uniformed SAPS member they normaly see in a Van or in the Charge Office now wearing old clothes and paitning away. Leading by our example. We also focus on our SAPS members and doing something for them to better their working conditions or create opportunities where they can relax away from work and just unwind and re-energize. For example the Da Gamaskop SAPS Community Service Centre was in dire need of an upgrade and instead of leaving our SAPS members to work in such conditions we jumped in and renovated the whole CSC. From painting to tiling the service counter. What was special here was that CPF members, community members Reservists and even the parolees working at the station worked together to accomplish this goal. Now our SAPS members can do their work with proud when community members come in for assistance. I believe this is good practice as it resolves problems on a deeper and more permanent level.

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