A crafted plastic bag for sale at Social Center Nelspruit…
South Africa interests me as it has come so far in organising itself into a stable country. Here are some of the background facts about South Africa:
- Lisa
-
A crafted plastic bag for sale at Social Center Nelspruit in South Africa.
South Africa interests me as it has come so far in organising itself into a stable country. Here are some of the background facts about South Africa:
South Africa is one of the African continent's largest and most influential countries. It covers an area of over 1.2 million km². The country has had a democracy since 1994, following the end of apartheid and the introduction of free elections and democratic rule. But there are still many social problems to overcome, not the least of which are the persisting inequalities between people of different skin colour and the exceptionally high HIV/AIDS rates.
Following the 1994 victory for the African National Congress and the end of apartheid, long-term and debilitating international sanctions were lifted on South Africa, which, coupled with the removal of internal restrictions, enabled the development of the economy and the country's vast wealth of natural resources.
South Africa's greatest challenge is HIV/AIDS. Recent estimates show the country having an HIV prevalence of 21.5%, the fifth highest rate in both Africa and the world as a whole (UNAIDS, 2004). This helps to explain the drop in life expectancy by 24% since 1998 (South African Institute of Race Relations, 2004). Equally alarming is that as many as 1.1 million children are classified as orphans as a result of AIDS, accounting for almost half of all orphans in the country (UNAIDS/UNICEF/USAID, 2004).
SOS Children's Villages started working in South Africa in 1979, supporting abandoned and orphaned children from all walks of society. The first SOS Children's Village, Ennerdale, 30 km south of Johannesburg, was established in 1982. The organisation received support from the changing political powers, all of which recognised the importance of its work.
Children in SOS Children's Village facilities are cared for equally by multi-racial SOS mothers, which prior to 1993 had been impossible under the apartheid laws. A variety of emergency relief programmes were also established following the catastrophic floods in the province of Natal in 1987 and the disastrous storm over Cape Town in 1999.
Through their family support, all SOS Children's Villages in the country seek to provide practical assistance for children and families most affected by HIV/AIDS. At present there are seven SOS Children's Villages, six SOS Youth Facilities, seven SOS nurseries, one SOS School, one SOS Mother and Staff Training Centre, eight SOS Social Centres and three community social centres in operation within the country.
- Mary
-
A mother and her children from SOS Social Center Sucre, Bolivia, buying palms.
Women and children facing the problem of abuse in their families are not alone anymore. Women leaders are now supporting each other to overcome their troubles. Here is the testimony of a great leader who is today part of the program of SOS Social Center Sucre.
"My name is Rosario. Since I became part of the organization, I learned a lot and now I feel proud of myself because I can help women with problems in their families. There are many mothers in these neighbourhoods that really need support and counselling.
For example, a few months ago, I met a new mother in an [SOS] Family Committee. Her name is Ninfa and she has several small children attending the centre. I immediately noticed she needed help. She was the kind of person that never talks and just listens, but reveals sadness through her eyes. So, I began to talk to her a little and soon we became good friends.
She told me her story and her situation was really complicated. She had several problems with her husband, an irresponsible man that with the justification of alcohol became used to beating her whenever he was drunk. As we had long talks between us, and after a few weeks, she realized it was not a good idea to continue being humiliated and abused by her husband. It was not good for her or for her children. She realized that she can go ahead alone and can work independently for her children. After that, I helped her to find a job, and she is now doing good. Her children attend the social centre while she can work during the day. She took the hard decision to live alone with her children.
Ninfa's point of view is totally different today. She says, 'we [women] just need a little help to realize we can do things by ourselves. Maybe we just need someone who we can trust. It is not a good idea to tolerate our husbands just because of our children. If they are irresponsible, they are not good husbands.'
The only thing I want is that all those women with problems in the poor neighbourhoods of Sucre raise awareness of their situation. They need to learn to say 'stop' to their husbands, if they are abused by them. For the time being, I will continue supporting them. After all, the only recompense I expect from this is to see these mothers working and living with their children at home peacefully."
This sentiment of mutual support, which was born spontaneously between mothers in their "SOS Family Committees", is helping them very much in their development as women. SOS Social Centre Sucre, therefore, has accomplished successfully its role: to develop women community leaders so that it is the women themselves who can support each other in moments of family troubles. The case of Rosario is certainly a very interesting and important experience. Congratulations Rosario!
Share: