It's been about a month since we've arrived in Wentworth and it's crazy to think of all that we've observed and accomplished thus far. We've established mutually beneficial relationships with our respective NGOs and are hopefully well on our way to making some kind of a difference in our community. Here's a list of our worksite placements for this summer:
Huayu - St. Monica's Children's Home
Christina - Isiaiah 54 Children's Home
Marcus - We Help Our Children
Snigdha - Victim Friendly Centre
Flannery - South Durban Community Environmental Alliance
Andrew - Beehive Computer Centre
Vinay - South Durban Basin Area Based Management and Izandla Zenkosi Community Development Centre
Kelsey and Evan - Assegai Primary School
I've been working in the Victim Friendly Centre, known around town as the Trauma Room. The Centre is responsible for counseling and providing support for people (mostly women and children) who have been abused. It consists of a small office and some counseling rooms and is staffed by 4-5 women at a time. Although these women don't receive any compensation for their efforts, they have worked tirelessly for about a decade to turn the Centre into what it is today. The women advise a vast range of clients daily, from children who are struggling in school to victims of rape and sexual abuse. The Centre is located within the police station, so officers usually escort anyone who has been traumatized in some way to our office.
The Centre is taking on a new shelter and resource center across the road in order to accommodate more clients. The shelter will house battered women for any number of months. The resource center will be fully staffed and equipped with a boardroom, library, skills development room, and a play therapy room for abused children.
Some general observations:
· The Centre has garnered a lot of support from Wentworth community members in the last few years and has been able to get a significant amount of donations and sponsorships. However, an increased client intake is depleting our resources.
· Many clients are completely unaware of all the resources the Centre has to offer until they come to the police station.
· Drugs play a CENTRAL role in Wentworth and are usually the cause of domestic violence, sexual abuse, low graduation rates, etc.
· Some of the women who volunteer for the Centre have not received official training and just advise the victims based on their personal experiences.
I have personally taken an interest in the children who come through the Centre. I was initially concerned about the lack of resources for children who have been traumatized, so I based my long-term project on play therapy. Sophie, a volunteer from the Netherlands, some local psychology students, and I decided to turn an empty room in the resource center into a “play therapy room” that can be used by the Centre to counsel children.
So far, we’ve painted the room, decorated the walls, and built shelves. We’re now in the process of buying therapy books for children, toys, etc.
Before:
After:
More will be posted soon about other ongoing projects at the Centre!
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