Partnership Update—Sizakuyenza
The Sizakuyenza Safe Home serves Townships near Cape Town in a way no one else in the area does...That’s because other programs focus on just one area of support while this unique/high-achieving partner of Arm in Arm provides four:
“The Victims’ Empowerment Program” (VEP) is a shelter for women who have been abused—and their children.
“The Substance Abuse Program” supports residents struggling with rampant issues of dependency in the area.
“The Children and Families Program” helps people suffering emotionally from the grief and stress resulting from significant violence.
“ HIV Testing and Counseling Program.” this testing is done, if needed, for participants in the other three programs.
The 17 care providers here must navigate through the dangerous street, aggressive gangsters and widespread violence in this area just to get here.
The largest program is the Safe Home which houses 20 people (the combined number of the women and their children) for up to three months.
In their time here the women learn life skills and earn certificates as part of the process of breaking their dependency on their abusers. The pride of completing the trainings is etched in the smiles on their faces. They’re learning everything from parenting skills to baking—and mastering the region’s popular favorite ”Big Pot Bread”.
Residents are offered childcare at a near by location. To give mothers the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills training and to search for jobs. This is not yet to the level the organization would like, however, due to very limited resources and space.
The end goal of the program is to graduate these women to jobs and self-sufficiency. That’s a big step but certainly secondary to their restoration and to the initial goal of just keeping them alive.
We want to introduce you to two women who are much of the heart and soul of this facility: Helen Barnard is the Director here. Her cheerful face and demeanor reveal her positive outlook and passion.
She will be quick to tell you that complete support for the residents she serves here is not just about giving them material things. She never fails to mention that the women and children here often victimized by these very violent and patriarchal township realities are in desperate need of our prayers, as well.
Helen is a social worker by training, with many years of experience in child protection work, parent education and training, facilitation and coaching. While she has been the visionary leader of all four programs here for just 18 months, her 10-years of grief training experience have blossomed into this becoming her lifelong mission.
Andisiwe Magingxa has not taken a traditional path to her critical role as a social worker at the Safe House. She has traded in her own beauty pageant victories and trophies of the past to help these women here walk down the runway to “win” in the game of life in the future.
Conversations here are not easy when helping with these women and children who have been victimized in ways and often witness things that people should never see.
But the choice for Andisiwe is easy—by advocating for and empowering these women and children inside of Sizakuyenza’s walls, the ultimate goal is to build their chance for a successful life outside.