Ihata Care Group, a local NPO, has created the Safe Haven Project in an effort to provide a safe space during the festive season for vulnerable children and women affected by gender-based violence (GBV).
The organisation has been managing the Beitun Nur home in Schaapkraal for the past three years, with this project being set up in the Cape Flats. They also run a shelter for abused women in Heideveld.
Beitun Nur is a home for young girls suffering from GBV.
Nuraan Osman, Ihata Care Group’s COO, spoke to IOL, saying that the NPO has opened Beitun Nur for more children for the Safe Haven Project.
“The project is to provide a safe haven for vulnerable children from neighbouring communities. We have massive grounds which are children friendly,” she explains.
“The aim is to get the children out of the ghetto and better themselves. The project will not only teach the children soft skills, life skills but also sustainability, basic farming.”
The children, aged seven to 18, also participate in an educational programme that addresses GBV. The hope is that the children will join the youth academy Ihata currently runs.
Osman says that the girls who currently live at Beitun Nur also become peer educators.
Also read: Two new GBV safe houses opened on the West Coast
“We have over 35 children who come to our [youth] programme every two weeks. We hope to do this daily but in order to achieve that we will require funding and sponsorship,” Osman explains.
“The girls living at Beitun Nur are already used to the notion of giving back, nurturing, caring, helping and empowering others. During this project the aim is all about giving back.”
The children who participate in the project come primarily from Manenberg, an area badly plagued by gang violence and ongoing shootings.
Osman explains the relief and joy children feel moving to the project’s grounds: “The children who come here have peace and quiet and are free to run around and be children.”
“They do not have to watch their backs. They can just enjoy being children.”
Also read: Another shooting in Manenberg: Residents fearful of gang related attacks
Osman’s hope is to branch the project out to neighbouring communities, but she will need financial support for feeding the children and sustaining the programme.
“Currently we are building a clothing bank for school clothes for the children in the surrounding informal settlements and we hope this will be a success. We want children to see the bigger world and show them it is not just about lacking,” Osman adds.
“Children should never know lack.”
To help out or donate, you can contact the Ihata Care Group at 083 712 2703 or 021 638 5578 or via email at [email protected].
Also read:
Picture: IOL
