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Reach out is a Non Profit Organisation that has existed for over 20 years and deal mainly with an informal settlement on the outskirt of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa named France informal settlement.The area has high levels of poverty, unemployment and HIV and AIDS that affect this community. Reach Out is dedicated and see to the needs of Child Headed Children (Children who have no parents and reside in RDP houses on their own), the Elderly and the infirm. There are over 70 000 people who reside in this area. Reach out also deals with other areas in Pietermaritzburg, the likes of Oribi Village and Manor where families are also effected by severe poverty and neglect. These families live under extreme hardships, stresses and strains that they are forced to experience on a daily basis. The situation is totally unacceptable and no human being should have to endure the kind of awful, inhumane circumstances that they find themselves in.
In 2009, Liberty Proerties and Liberty Midland Mall, built Reach Out a much needed Centre at a cost of R2,3 million Rand in order to further our work in the area. The Centre provides a much needed Soup Kitchen, Laundry facility, a Child Advocacy Centre,Education and Training and Church Services held on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday for youth and Sunday. 300 child headed children are fed every morning and return to the centre after school for lunch and Homework supervision. It also brings relief and assistance to 150 HIV moms and aids 92 of the elderly with food hampers. Various other courses have been introduced for the upliftment of the community, the likes of SLOT (Student Leaving Opportunity Training, Thembeni Skills Development Trading and Projects ((Pty) (Ltd) Landscaping NQF Level 3, HIV/Aids awareness and Youth Development.
The Child Advocacy Centre assist sexually and physically abused children, with trained counsellors, with the purpose of:
- protecting the child from further harm
- providing counselling for the child and family
- minimising the risk of further trauma
- protecting society from the offender
- holding the offender accountable for his actions
Since most of the residents are unemployed and untrained, we set up a much-needed Education and Training Facility. This assists school-leaving children by training them on the basics of certain trades, to see where their talents lie, in order that they can be sent for further training. Various colleges have allighed themselves with Reach Out in order to obtain bursaries for those who show exceptional potential.
The Elderly
The elderly in the community are heavily burdened with the responsibility of taking care of the orphaned and abandoned children. This leaves the elderly experiencing extreme hardships, stresses and strains. They have no time for themselves, or their health, just a continuing cycle of struggle and torment. Their suffering and hardships are such that no human being should have to endure. A facility within the centre has been set for the elderkt to bring relief to their families by assisting with food hampers and most essentially also serve as a Pensioners’ payout point.
Oribi Village
We are happy to report that our centre “The Else Foundation of love” situated in France informal settlement is now fully sustainable. Our feeding schemes, seeing to the elderly and the infirm, Education and Training and various projects will continue. And, Furthermore, REACH OUT have now identified an area called Oribi Village (Pietermaritzburg), in desperate need and to help with the dire needs of the community. Reach Out has gained essential “hands on experience” in France informal settlement over many years which we believe will enable us to create a platform in addressing the needs of the Oribi Village community. We believe that the success that we achieved in France informal settlement will be duplicated in this area. Oribi Village has been left to its own devices far too long and is in dire need of help. Reach Out’s approach will have a positive effect of uplifting the community and making a difference. We therefore are looking forward to working with the people of Oribi village in 2018
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