Vodacom volunteers our heros!

Every month the Gauteng office supplies 220 comfort packs to police stations to give to child abuse victims. These packs are caringly packed by a group of dedicated volunteers from Vodacome. We would like to thank Melenie Naidoo and her volunteers for being there every month - you are our heros!!

WHITE ELEPHANT brings great surprise

Our Cape Town Fundraiser, The White Elephant sale, caused great excitement recently. Name it, and we had it! Hosted in September at at Cape Garden Centre we managed to raise more than R 10 000 for Matla A Bana. With great bargains and even greater fun (for all the volunteers!) - we will definately be doing this again. We would like to thank Peter and his staff at Cape Garden Centre, as well as our group of 8 volunteers for making this day such an success.

Shellard and Dell comes to the rescue

Clive from Shellard Media announcing their generous sponsorship!

We urgently needed to install audio-visual recording facilities at Vereeniging FCS in order to make this a child-friendly reporting facility. This equipment is needed to record the interview with the child and can later be used for testimony preparation for court.

Shellard Media (who also sponsored the full audio-visual system for Morokka FCS) and Dell Foundation came to the party and donated R 7000 and R 15000 respectively! We would like to thank both Clive and Elaine for coming to the rescue.

This facility deals with an average of 30 child abuse cases a month - so your donation will go a long way to help minimise the secondary abuse of our children.

Babcock shows some tenderness

Babcock Africa Services (Pty) Ltd with its majority male employees took the challenge to change an abused child’s life. These gents carefully packed more than 80 comfort packs for child abuse victims and then handed it over to MAB to distribute to Child Protection Sections in Gauteng.

Secretary's day Montecasino

MAB celebrated National Secretaries Day in grand style at Montecasino. All thanks to the creative efforts of Carin Kotze (Il Muso) who organised the event in aid of Matla A Bana. Edith Venter was the MC for the day, and told everyone that she started her career as a secretary. Author of "The art of good living", Edith is no stranger to Charity, and had bin a great supporter of Matla a Bana over the years.

It was however the talents of the men from Navi Redd who stole the hearts of the ladies, using only their vocal chords and creativity to take audiences on an unbelievable journey of sounds and harmonies. Well-known beauty giant, Willa Krause shared her secrets in how to look great.

There was not a dry eye after Anna Davel performed the son "The Innocent" which she wrote for Matla A Bana.

A very big thank you to all who attended and to all our sponsors:
Montecasino, Willa Krause Group, NetFlorist, M & M Hiring, Fotoman Photography, Your Ticket, Alice Art Gallery, Netmetro, The meat Company, Lindt

FIRST CHILD FRIEDLY REPORTING FACILITY FOR WESTERN CAPE!

Commissioner Petros taking care of the "official opening".

Lauren (Nando's), Tony & Suzie (Rotary Claremont), Comm Petros, Monique (MAB) & Ian (KFM)
The assessment room with one-way mirror

On 28 August the first MAB Child Friendly reporting facility in the Western Cape was officially opened by Commissioner Petros. This facility will help more than 50 child-abuse victims every month and boasts with a victim friendly reception, monitoring room with state-of-the-art recording facilities and a child-friendly assessment room. We would like to thank all the sponsors who made this project possible.

19th August, POA Woman's Day

It was a day full of caring and personal growth for all attending. Rosemary Hunter, the winner of POA Imbasa Yegolide Award: Industry Personality of the Year, gave an inspirational message to the Ladies. Deputy Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng, Henriette Bester explained the importance of the Matla a Bana projects in helping SAPS and abused victims. She complimen-ted Matla for their consistency as a charity and never giving up. Even when facing the many challenges in the current market. All guests contributed by making comfort packs for abused children. Captain Mawila form Mamelodi East accepted the comfort packs. Our very own Esme Ehlers, one of Matla a Bana’s old friends and trustee Member, with her business partner Berti Akersten, did a talk on "Unlocking Your Potential” These platforms allow Matla a Bana to reach the public and create awareness of child abuse and rape in our country.

POA Women's Day

The Comfort Pack Project received a major boost with the donation of comfort packs and comfort packs received from guests during the recent POA Woman’s Day. We would like to thank POA for helping us!

FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION TRAINING - AUG 2009

SOUTH AFRICA NEEDS FORENSIC DOCTORS WHEN IT COMES TO RAPE
With the popularity of TV programmes like CSI, the public are becoming more aware of the important part forensics can play in solving crimes and securing convictions. There is however a great lack of training for medical doctors when it comes to the forensic examination of abuse and rape victims. This has often resulted in low convictions in such cases.

A group of medical practitioners from hospitals in Cape Town, as well as forensic social workers based at the Cape Town Child Protection Units was part of a group who received specialised training in Welgemoed last week. This training included subjects like Child Abuse, Injuries, Crime Kit and Anal Abuse and the focus of the training was to ensure that doctors know how to deal with the medical examination of a rape or an abuse victim. Dr Tromp Els, one of only a few forensic experts in this field travelled from Lichtenburg to do the training. Dr Els has done medical examinations on more than 3000 rape victims and was keen to share his wealth of knowledge.

Doctor Els shared his fear of South Africa not having enough forensic doctors who could testify and train new generations of doctors. He also stressed the responsibility of doctors to report any suspicious injury and to ensure the welfare of the victim. Stressing the legal implications of not reporting these crimes were Adv Lizelle Africa (NPA) who did a training session on the new legislation, court procedures and defence tactics. Many doctors are terrified to testify in court because they are unsure of what is expected from them. This often results in doctors not wanting to report suspected abuse.

Like the police, the doctors working in the casualty departments, are exposed to severe trauma, especially with child rape and abuse cases. It is often expected from them to establish a relationship with a child, gain the trust of that child and do a extremely traumatic medical examination of the rape victim – all of this within ten minutes. It is therefore essential that they need to be aware of what they are looking for, how to identify sexual abuse wounds and ensure minimum trauma to the child.

All the attendees could not stop speaking about the value of the course and were keen to take the knowledge back to their own hospitals. The two day course was ended of with a certificate ceremony and was made possible by the kind donation of Rotary Claremont.

Matla A Bana, a NGO established by ex-hostage Monique Strydom, works to minimise the secondary abuse that child victims suffer when they report crime. This charity works very closely with the police and legal justice system and reaches thousands of abused children every year.

We would like to thank Rotary Claremont for making this training possible.

RAPE COPS WIN CONFIDENCE OF THE PUBLIC - GAUTENG INCENTIVE AWARDS

In an era where the cops in South Africa are criticized for being corrupt and not winning the war against crime, some Gauteng cops are proving the opposite. These are the cops dealing with rape and child abuse cases, stationed at the various cluster police stations. During the Malta A Bana Incentive Awards, hosted at Heia Safari Ranch, some of these top cops were honored for their dedication. Several of the winners cracked serial rape cases and secured long sentences, creating a safer environment for the public. Congratulations to our winners!

Best Performer 1st - Sgt Richards Garsfontein FCS is not a trained FCS investigator; despite this she set a high standard in the investigation of a rape case of a young girl.  She received the case nearly a year and a half after the incident occurred. The sergeant set up excellent communication between the forensic specialist, the prosecutor and herself.  The case was postponed 38 times, but the member made sure that she attended each court hearing. Her thorough investigation secured the arrest and conviction of the two perpetrators and five counts of life imprisonment (first accused) with twenty years for the second accused.

Best Performer 2nd  (Jointly) Constable R S Mareletse is receiving this award because of being consistant in solving and arresting cases. He secured a total of 69 years for three rapists in Sharpville and a life sentence in a rape case that took place in De Deur. In the beginning of the year the quick actions of this member save the life of a pedestrian who was knock down in front of him.

Best Performer 2nd (Jointly) Sgt Maile (Alexandra SAPS) faced all the odds when he was handed an old sexual abuse case. Not only was he new to this kind of investigation, but he had to find two medical evidence forms that went missing and deal with a prosecutor who did not believe the case could be won. Because of his dedication the perpetrator received two life imprisonment sentences for rape, 15 years for rape, eight years for attempted murder, 15 years for hi-jacking, 15 years for armed robbery, 5 years for kidnapping and 5 years for assault.

Outstanding Achievement

Captain Mawila investigated a serial rape case of twelve women in the Eersterust, Villieria and Mamelodi policing area. The member linked these cases with rape cases in Mpumalanga and Limpopo and soon a gang of three perpetrators were arrested. The member worked long hours to keep all the victims informed and to liaise with the state prosecutor. The perpetrators were found guilty of rape and robbery with aggravated circumstances and received life imprisonment. A previous winner, Inspector Arrie Prinsloo, once again showed why she is one of the top FCS cops when she cracked two case of serial rape. In the first case the perpetrators prayed on women waiting for taxis. They would drag them into the bush and then rape and rob them.  The suspects were arrested, but the case was dealt a blow when none of the victims could identify the suspects. It was however DNA evidence that resulted in the successful prosecution with four life sentences and 107 additional years. In the second case a gang of serial rapists were terrorizing women in the Weltevreden Park area, attacking them at the residences, raping and robbing them. Two suspects were arrested and once again thorough investigation resulted in this rapist being put away for life.

Best Station Commissioner - Director Baijnath of Krugersdorp SAPS is awarded for his dedication to implement supporting structures for the FCS detectives at his station. He has shown dedication to arrest rapist and child abusers by giving his FCS members his full support. He was also very supportive of the MAB projects at his police station, which boasts with a child-friendly reporting environment.  

Best FCS Unit and FCS Commander The Vanderbijlpark unit took the honors with having the best arrests and conviction rates for the period. Capt Mokoena, commanding officer of this unit, took the award for the best FCS Commander.  She is very supportive of her members and attends all Matla a Bana functions. She doesn’t hesitate to acknowledge her members or other role players when the job is done!

Service Excellence Award

Supt Heila Niemand (Randfontein FCS) was responsible for putting one of the worst child molesters behind bars. Dr Stephanus Potgieter was a well-know music teacher with a dark side – a love for small boys.  After investigating an indecent assault complaint on a 13 year old boy, Supt Niemand realized that this was the tip of the iceberg. Her investigation took her across South Africa, from Natal midlands to Cape Town. A total of 152 hours were spent to build a strong case. Not only did Supt Niemand secured the bona-fide help from private companies to assist with hard drive recovery, saving the state thousands of rand, but she also arranged for psychologists to assists with preparing victims for court. The perpetrator pleaded guilty on 44 charges of indecent assault and received 20 years of prison services. Captain Zwane (Provincial Coordinator Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences) is the second recipient of the Service Excellence Award for his continued dedication not only in solving crimes, but also in supporting his members. Because of his assistance it was possible for MAB to complete many projects with the FCS unit successfully. 

WESTERN CAPE TOP COPS AWARDED

BEST FCS UNITS : Monique Strydom, Fiona Coyne (Guest Speaker), Capt Niewhout (Vredendal FCS), Supt VD Westhuizen (Delft FCS), Dir Brand

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT : Inspector Kock (middle)

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD : Flo Borchers (Middle)


SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD : Capt Mhaka with her bear

TOP FCS PERFORMERS

During the recent Matla A Bana WC FCS Incentive Awards hosted at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, these top cops were awarded for outstanding service in protection the children. It was the rural units and investigators who stole the limelight – and the awards. The first prize for the Best Performer was taken by Inspector Payne, stationed at Beaufort West. He worked alone and investigated cases in a vast area. He has managed to get 80% cases to court (whilst working on his own). He secured 50 years of prison sentences for rape cases. He was investigated the high profile case of the pornographic videos of children which made news headlines on Special Assignment. In the case of Jan Links – who had 4 rape, 2 indecent assault and 2 kidnapping cases – the members worked for 7 months, often during the night and weekends to secure the arrest of this perpetrator.

The Outstanding Achievement award, for excellent investigation skills in one specific case was won by Inspector Kock and Sgt De Kock. These two members investigated the rape cases of a 12 year and a 5 year old girls. The ensured the arrest of Ockert Steyn and because of their thorough investigation managed to secure six life sentences.

The Delft FCS Unit walked away with the award for the Best FCS Unit Metropole, whilst the award for the Best Rural FCS Unit was won by the Vredendal Unit. Supt Thea VD Westhuizen took the award for the Best FCS Commander in the Western Cape.

One of the highlights of the day was the two awards in the Service Excellence section. This is awarded to police members or members of the public how have shown exceptional dedication in fighting child abuse. Captain Mhaka, a forensic social worker at Nyanga FCS, is one of the few Xhosa speaking social workers based at FCS Units. As a result of her dedication towards educating herself and working at various other units, she has developed herself as an expert witness and has contributed to various successful prosecutions. Mrs Flo Borchers (Friends of Child Protection) was the first civilian in the Western Cape to receive this awards. She is responsible for the packing and distribution of hundreds of comfort packs to the police and hospitals. These packs are given to child abuse and rape victims when they report crimes. Both these ladies received a speaking ( “I love you”) Build-A-Bear collectors bear.

We would like to thank all our sponsors for your generous support:

VINEYARD HOTEL

DE OUDE HERBERG

PINELANDS CITY LODGE

NANDOS

BUILD A BEAR
TIME ZONE (CLEARWATER MALL)
MANGWANANI SPA

DIR BRAND, MS SUZANNE HIMLEY, MONIQUE STRYDOM & FIONA COYNE
Rotary Claremont surprised WC MAB staff by handing over a cheque of more than R 150 000 for various projects. MAB will use these funds to create a MAB Child Friendly Facility at Nyanga FCS (the first in the WC), train doctors in Cape Town on Forensic Medical Examination, print a "Share your secret" Flyer for children who report crimes and host the MAB Incentive Awards. We would like to thank Rotary Claremont and specifically - Peter Rogers and Suzanne Himley for believing in us!

R1 million or R 30?

A recent research document by Solidarity shows that a child is raped every 4 minutes. Unfortunately very few of those crimes are reported.

Matla A Bana has been working since 2002 to help the thousands of raped and abused children who report the crimes against them, Last year we helped more than 3000 children through our various projects.

In order to help another 3000 children this year, we will need R1 million. It sounds like a lot of money, but in effect it will only take R 333 to help one child or a monthly contribution of R 30 will help us to help that one child.

If you would like to assist us, please email me on matlawc@mweb.co.za.

We are a registered charity and Absa Trust is the manager of our funds – so your donation is in save hands and will be used to help these children. We will also issue a Form 18A at the end of the year – which means your donation is tax deductible – so rather help us than give your funds to SARS!

Please read more on all our projects on http://mabnews.blogspot.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and hope to get that email from you!

Monique Strydom

WC NEWS

During a meeting hosted by the WC SAPS Provincial Office, Commissioner Petros, once again gave his committement to keeping the specialized services of the FCS Units. Of great concern however is the stress level and trauma experienced by the members of these units. Commissioner Petros referred to the recent case of the 3 year old baby who was kidnapped, raped and stabbed to death, and his concern for the members having to deal with this kind of trauma on a daily basis.

MAB has agreed to look at training programs to address this issue in the next year. MAB was also asked to assist the Gender Justice Forum with their training program. It is becoming more and more important to assist the police in equipping members with soft skills.

BID OR BUY auction great success!

Our celebrity auction on Bid or buy, closed last night with a profit of more than R 16000! We would like to thank http://www.bidorbuy.co.za for hosting this auction for charities. Not only did this help us raise much needed funds, but also helped us to profile our charity. A great thank you also to all our celebrities who took part. And then to all the bidders - thank you for your generous support! We know you will have fab dates with these stars!!