South Africa:Women Empowerment against GBV And HIV/AIDS

Bulamahlo Home Based Care organisation based at Mentz, Badimong village next to the University of Limpopo. Established in November 2003, Registered on 28 July 2005, Registration no: 041-399-NPO, with an aim of helping all the people living with HIV/AIDS, the infected and affected. Three years later, it gave birth to a drop in centre. The staff and board of directors were just volunteers without necessary skills to take the organisation to its capable function level that it is today. Common sense has made it possible for the organisation to succeed and the few workshops we attend helped shape the organisation.

Context

We are taking care of 730 orphans, vulnerable children and child headed families. We make sure these children get good food, get uniforms and go to school like any other children. The success story is “we achieved all this in 4 years” and we are busy implementing sports, arts and culture for them to take part in sports activities. We went an extra mile by opening three satellites for children that cannot reach our centre, therefore as a non-profit organisation we rely on donations.

Key Actions

Provide integrated services to individuals and families affected and infected by HIV & AIDS. Provide social crime prevention and intervention services. To provide prevention, care and support services to people with disabilities. To provide appropriate interventions for substance abuse prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Reduce the incidence of poverty through sustainable live hood. To provide protection care, support to older person. To provide prevention, care and support services to children. To provide protection and care services to children. Provision of institutional capacity and support. Develop and manage community-based interventions for the infected and affected. Empowerment of women and people with disabilities. To make follow-up with local resources. To assist children with homework from school. To capacitate children with life skill education. To give nutrition to ensure hygiene life. All the activities that are performed at the campaigns and at the centre are those that are best of both (youth and adults) and all groups and individuals are accommodated in every activity that has been offered by the centre. This activity are used to incorporate the issues relating to HIV/AIDS, during campaigns. During the weekends, the children sit at home with their guardians as we operate from Monday to Friday but the weekends programme is on the pipeline and it will soon be implemented in our centre.

Partners

CPF in our community to help keep track of abused women and children, SASSA to help those clinics namely Evelyn Lekganyane and Mamabolo help us in identifying patients ,two local schools Badimong Primary and MphetsebeA High where every year we hold campaigns to teach children about speaking out against abuse and the dangers of teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. We also formed a coalition with Capricorn District Municipality, which provide funds for all our campaigns.

Strategies

We work with the CPF in our community to help keep track of abused women and children. We work with SASSA to help those children who do not have access to social grants and food parcel. We work with social workers to provide counselling and assistance to families who need intervention with their social issues. The two closest clinics namely Evelyn Lekganyane and A. Mamabolo help us in identifying patients who need help in taking their medication and counselling them. We also work with our two local schools Badimong Primary and Mphetsebe High where every year we hold campaigns to teach children about speaking out against abuse and the dangers of teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. We also formed a coalition with Capricorn District Municipality, which provide funds for all our campaigns.

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Immediate results and next steps

A constant donor for food parcels, which leads to our kids eating daily from the centre. Mobile clinics for the Sick and elderly comes to the centre, which helps in provision of medication for the chronically ill patients. The project/community members have developed a community forum that will help the organisation to run community matters properly. More campaigns still need to be held, in relation to GBV, LGBTQI, HIV/AIDS, and MENSTRUAL HEALTH. There is a need for the health centre to be responsive to current world health organisation. There is a need for constant monitoring and evaluation of policies relating to violence

Long term Impact

There is a need to educate the community to treat violence against women as a major social problem. There is also a need for stiffer penalties for perpetrators of violence against women. There is a need to empower women to demand their rights and be able to speak out about their experiences of abuse.  There is a need to develop strict control measures particularly in the area of corporal punishment that is taking place illegally behind closed doors. There is a need to health promotions that discourages the unwarranted use of alcohol. There is a need for the health centre to be responsive to current world health organisation. There is a need for constant monitoring and evaluation of policies relating to violence

Learning and Application

Work is central to life, and most people engage in as a socio-economic activity and mainly so in an organizational context. Most people, as Adults, have to engage in some form of work to be able to earn and make a living. Today millions of people do so by working in and for organizations. Modern-day society is very much organization driven and organization require work to be done. Thus, most organizations need people to do work and millions of people depend on organizations to be able to work and make a living. This project will create job opportunities for its surrounding communities, by teaching people the importance of independence, through financial workshops and entrepreneurial workshop skills.