Manana empowers victims of abuse

The department of Safety, Security and Liaison MEC, Ms Sibongile Manana donated furniture and various resources to the Masisukumeni Home Based Care Centre in Tonga (Nkomazi) on 30 September 2010. The furniture included items such as beds, mattresses, refrigerator and blankets.

According to Manana the items would assist in taking care of the abused women and children kept in the centre after being referred by the police.

Speaking at this event, Manana said that the donation was directed to Tonga because most of the crime perpetrated against women and children were reported by residents of this area. She said the items would ensure proper accommodation of the victims of abuse in the region because it was difficult for the volunteers to accommodate victims due to insufficient resources in the centre.

The donation comes after the department visited the centre to ascertain whether the victims kept in the centre were receiving the necessary assistance. A need analysis was compiled and the department was able to assist by sourcing the donated items.

Local communities including the Community Police Forum (CPF) were upbeat about the assistance. They mentioned that the donation would go a long way in assisting local community members, in particular women and children.

As much as she thanked the community and the department for supporting the victim support centre, Colonel Leah Banda of the Tonga Police Station was worried that crime related to the abuse of women and children was on the increase in the area.

She said that this could be attributed to the fact that the awareness campaigns conducted by the department encouraged people to report cases of abuse.

Centre Manager, Ms Racheal Nkosi indicated that at some stage, especially during weekends, she would take some victims to her home to provide them with accommodation because of the lack of resources at the centre, however, this has come to an end because there would be adequate beds, blankets and other resources to keep the victims relaxed.

Source: Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Mpumalanga Provincial Government