Workshop - Why men rape babies

On 21 June,  MAB  hosted a workshop with the FCS detectives in Gauteng on why men rape babies. Thirty FCS delegates attended and the feedback was very positive!!

Matla aBana would like to thank Dr Amelia Kleijn a Registered Social Worker for sharing her Research with our Organisation!  Dr Amelia’s research was conducted with “baby rapists” or incarcerated men serving long sentences for the rape of children under the age of three years. The focus of the study were the men’s psychosocial histories and the possible factors in their lives that enabled them to act so violently and brutally towards particularly young children. To the best of her knowledge, her study is the first of its kind.

We would like to thank Eversheds International for your generous sponsorship of an immaculate venue and scrumptious snacks!

We dance for the kids!

On Saturday 16 June more than 300 dancers put their dancing shoes on, did their stretches, ran through some steps and then joined the Let's Go Shuffling Danceathon at Clearwater Mall. Although only a few danced the danceathon, many where there to show their style during 11 hours of non-stop dancing. They ranged from 2 years old to 70 years, from professional to "never danced before", from hip hop to the foxtrot - it was a great day of dance for children in need! Celebrities Eloise Cupido and Kyknet presenter Rianette Owitz joined in the fun. Roodepoort Round Table made a huge donation of good for the comfort pack project and Shellard Media joined the drive by donating an additional R2000. Clearwater Mall gave all the dancers a great gift and Roman's Pizza was there to keep the tummies full! We would like to thank all who participated, our sponsors for making this possible and the staff who worked (and danced!) for many hours!

MAB opens child-friendly rooms in Vredenburg

MAB is proud to announce the upgrading of two important rooms on the Cape West Coast. On 11 June we showed the victim room at Vredenburg Hospital and the room of the forensic social worker at Vredenburg FCS (based at Saldanha SAPS) to our sponsors and the press.

We would like to thank the St Helena Church and Old Mutual Foundation for your support and for making this possible.

The St Helena Church as well as Akkerdyk Church in Vredenburg will adopt the hospital and FCS unit and give support to officials and children.

WC Child Protection week radio campaign

MAB secured the broadcast of a series for tips called "Straat Slim vir kinders" and "Straat slim vir ouers" on Radio Tygerberg for 5 days during Child Protection Week. These tips were written by Matla A Bana and went out during the peak morning and afternoon shows. Thank you to Radio Tygerberg for partnering with us.
(You can download these tips from our website).

Gauteng Child Protection week activities

The Linden Bible study group invited the Tembisa FCS unit to spend some quality time with them! The theme of the message by Helene Wessels was “ Taste and see that the Lord is good”! The members were treated with a scrumptious breakfast and tea treats!  They were also blessed with a container of biscuits to take to their families! Tembisa FCS did not let the opportunity go by to bless the ladies with their singing talents!! Matla a Bana is proud of this long term Adoption relationship! (watch the video on our You tube site!).

We would like to than Roodepoort Townlodge for hosting a special breakfast for our volunteers and supporters during Child Protection week. Amongst our guests were our training partners SAPS and Mosaiek Church (sponsor of venue and catering for our Serial Rape training)

 Wednesday 30 May was the time to acknowledge more dedicated volunteers, police members, media and other loyal sponsors assisting us to make an impact in the field of Child Abuse.   Clearwater Mall Centre Management Treated everyone with a nice goodie bag, and a fabulous breakfast with hot drinks at Cappuccino’s!  All the guests were surprised and felt very special with this “treat” sponsored by Clearwater Mall! Thank you to Cecile at Clearwater Mall who made this possible.


Roodepoort SOCA visit on 1 June
Mosaic Church visited the court staff during tea time with snack platters and reminded them of their importance to protect our children! Thank you Embark Foundation of Mosaic for making this treat possible!

On Wednesday, 7 June, Christian Heritage Church treated their unit with a home made Breakfast at the church hall! Lt –Col Segotta thanked Past Pat & Yvonne for always helping them when they need motivation and also for the special breakfast! She handed over a beautiful plant and card from the unit as a token of their appreciation!

12 June 2012
Matla a Bana and Krugersdorp FCS unit visited Knikkies @ Kenmare Laerskool to educate them on the importance of the Green Ribbon and their rights to be protected! Knikkies theme of the year is GREEN and they proudly wore the Green Ribbons during Child Protection week!  The school enjoyed the puppet show and thanked the SAPS for their time with a decadent chocolate!

Our oldest volunteer!

Never too old to make a differnce and we have proof of that! Oom Koos Myburg has been a loyal supporter and MAB since our very first beginning. From packing to painintg - nothing is too difficult for oom Koos. Thank you very much for your dedication and the great example you have set for all the other people out there.

 Matla A Bana is listed in several of the provinces as one of the charities where you can help in the Roman's Pizza Double Up Challenge. We need items for the comfort packs and help to create child friendly facilities. Visit www.doubleupsa.co.za to see where you can help!

Roman's Pizza does it again!

For many South Africans there is very little hope of bettering their socio-economic situation.  Unemployment, the ever dwindling government support for NGO’s and the growing need for services have resulted in many just barley surviving. Whilst on the other end, the rich just seems to get richer. Unfortunately, in South Africa, hundreds of thousands of children are also affected and are more at risk of becoming victims of neglect and ultimately violence.

This leaves one burning question? If the problem is so big, will any effort to help really make a difference?  Yes, if millions of South Africans can be motivated to take a stand, face the problem and actively start with community work. And this is exactly what the Romans Pizza Double Up Challenge hopes to do.  Based on the age old principle of passing on good fortune, Roman’s Pizza and the Callie and Monique Strydom Trust is now challenging ordinary South Africans to “double up” using  their skills and their talents in order to help millions of children in need.   The idea was inspired by Roman’s pizza store owners who, during the last two months, donated a percentage of their profit on sales in the  “wipe that smile on your face” charity drive.

During a media conference last night, Roman’s Pizza handed over a cheque for R 1 million to the Callie and Monique Strydom Trust, whose project Matla A Bana – a voice against child abuse, assists nearly 13000 abused children every year.  Aware of  dire situation of many abused and neglected children in our country, the charity decided to use half of this money towards a campaign that will make people aware of the need of children and inspire them to assist these children.

CEO of Strydom Trust and Matla A Bana, Monique Strydom, said the ultimate aim of this project is that long term relationships will be built and that the support will be ongoing, rather than a once off. If this can be achieved it will no longer be a double up, but rather triple or quadruple up. Monique Strydom is better known as the hostage who in 2000 survived a 4 month ordeal  in the hands of an Al Qaeda terrorist group. She stated that she is a perfect example of an ordinary South African who has been called to make a difference.  With a career that includes being a professional actress and media agency owner, she has no knowledge of social work and initially no pressing need to do any social work, but this has not stopped her helping thousands of abused children every year. “In fact, I can actually use my acting skills now when begging for money”, she joked.

When presented with the concept, Roman’s Pizza, fell in love with the idea. “It was exactly what we wanted to do – to wipe a smile on a face and with Double Up, it will not only be the faces of the children who will be helped, but also those who are doing the helping”, said Bonnie De Klerk from Roman’s Pizza.  She added  "Life is not worthwhile without a Smile and why not give to those in distress, when we have everything we need.  Making a difference is not only about handing over a R1 million cheque, but about giving your time and feeling it in your heart. Roman's Pizza really does care and we'll prove it be continuously getting involved and lending a helping hand!"

Double Up does not only call for individuals to “double up”, but the success of the projects will also rely on the participation of many businesses.  Of those there has been no shortage, even before the launch of the project. Community stations across South Africa has agreed to manage the marketing and updates on the projects in their provinces , the largest media group in South Africa has agreed to assist with spreading the message and already phone calls are streaming in from businesses to assist where needed.

The campaign will include a web site on which charities and causes can list their needs and blog sites for the participating community stations where the successes of the projects will be shared. In true “double up” spirit, Roman’s Pizza has also offered R 100 000 in prize money for the three best projects,  to be donated to the charity of these projects.  Now individuals not only will make a difference by helping, but if their project is a chosen, they can win additional money for the charity.

One of the projects already entered is that of a group of four 10-year olds in Cape Town who will, for the rest of the year, host birthday parties and give out birthday gifts at a crèche in an informal settlement. Another is that of hundreds of dancers who will participate in a 12 hour danceathon at Clearwater Mall to raise funds for comfort packs for child rape victims.

“With Double Up, we do not want money”, Monique Strydom said, “we want you!” .  This is truly a win win for all!

For more information visit www.doubleupsa.co.za. 

General Lamoer on Child Protection

“As the police we want to strongly urge everyone to get involved when it comes to the protection of our children.  When I hear how Friends of Child Protection are giving out comfort packs, I feel that it’s about time that we start giving out ‘discomfort packs’ to people who refuse to take the welfare of our children seriously. Yesterday we had 50,000 people at Loftus Versfeld for the rugby match between the Stormers and the Bulls. Why can’t we have 50,000 people standing up for the rights and protection of our children?

In our country and abroad, we are quick to follow sporting events, week after week, day after day, but when it comes to children we only have one Child Protection Week in this country.  It’s about time that we make it a 365 day initiative.

Men need to rise up because it is always women leading the way when it comes to child protection and children’s issues.  The perpetrators in 99% of the cases are men.  It’s about time that men stand up, take responsibility and lead the battle against child abuse.  When it comes to the 16 Days of Activism this year, men specifically will be called up to lead the event within the SAP ranks and be responsible for arrangements.

These are the kinds of outcomes that we would like to see as the SAPS.”

Lieutenant-General A.H. Lamoer

Provincial Commissioner: SAPS Western Cape

We are heard on the radio

Our serial rape training also made the news headlines on Cape Talk and 702! Thanx all for supporting us!

Cape Argus story

Push to capture serial rapists

May 28 2012 at 11:53am
By STAFF REPORTER
Comment on this story

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Monique Strydom. Photo: Tracey Adams
Fifty Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offence (FCS) police detectives have been given special training to deal with serial rape cases as the incidence of this type of crime escalates.

At the weekend, Matla A Bana, a local NGO, took a serious stance in an effort to help clamp down on serial rapists. Matla A Bana – with the slogan “A voice against child abuse” – hosted specialised training sessions with 50 detectives representing all the areas in the Western Cape.

Matla A Bana chief executive Monique Strydom said cases in which children were raped mostly involved serial rapists.

The team of 50 detectives attended a two-day training course in The Investigation of Serial Rape, which was led by one of SA’s top experts, Professor Gerard Labuschagne.

The focus of Matla A Bana is to minimise the secondary abuse child victims suffer when they report crimes, so they work very closely with the police FCS units.

Detectives received training in the profiling of perpetrators, modus operandi and the crucial skill of linking cases.

FCS units are investigating a series of serial rapes in Cape Town and smaller towns, including Vredenburg and Knysna.

Strydom said that with this type of specialised training, cases would now be resolved much quicker. She added that “the public should give the police credit for the arresting of such offenders”.

Matla A Bana said that during the last three years, more than 1 500 rape cases had been linked as being part of serial rape behaviour, using the police DNA laboratories.

“How many others still go undetected remains to be discovered. It turns out that rape victims do not have a voice and serial rapists get away with rape, and possibly murder as well,” the NGO said.

“It is because of a lack of a specialised task team and officers not communicating that many of these cases are only picked up after a series of rapes, or even murder, has taken place.”

Labuschagne said one serial rapist could rape up to 40 women and added that the police should not back-slap each other when arresting a serial rapist – they should be ashamed that they had only caught the perpetrator at such a late stage.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

SERIAL RAPISTS DEALT A BLOW by MAB

During the last three years more than 1500 serial rape cases have been linked by the DNA laboratories of SAPS. How many others still go undetected remains to be discovered? If these were cash-in- transit heist numbers we were talking about, the business community would be up in arms and a special task team put into place to investigate these crimes. It turns out that rape victims do not have a voice and serial rapists get away with rape – and possibly murder as well. It is a well known fact that serial rape often escalates into murder, like the case of the Sunday Rapist who is currently on trail in Gauteng.

In the Western Cape these offenders will soon discover that their crimes will not go as unnoticed. This is due to a specialised training course hosted by Matla A Bana – A voice against child abuse. The focus of this NGO is to minimise the secondary abuse child victims suffer when they report crimes, so they work very closely with the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offence units. During this two training course , 50 detectives representing all the areas in the Western Cape, were trained in the Investigation of Serial Rape by one of South Africa’s top experts, Professor Gerard Labuschagne.

Detectives received training in the profiling of the perpetrator, modus operandi and the very crucial skill of linking cases. It is because of a lack of a specialised task team and officers not communicating that many of these cases are only picked up after a series of rapes, or even murder has taken place. Professor Labuschagne stated that the police should not tap themselves on the shoulder when arresting a serial rapist, they should be ashamed that they only got the perpetrator at such a late stage.

Currently the FCS units are investigating a series of serial rapes in Cape Town and small towns like Vredenburg and Knysna. With this type of specialised training, cases will now be resolved much quicker. Matla A Bana CEO, Monique Strydom, stated during the certificate award ceremony, that “the public should give the police credit for the arresting of such offenders. The arrest of one serial rapist will means the solving of many cases as these people often perpetrate many crimes”. Prof Labuschagne said that one serial rapist can rape up to 40 women.

This training was made possible by the generous sponsorship of iTemba Labs. Monique Strydom highlighted that fact that business, civil society and the police can form a formidable partnership in fighting the war against crime. With more partnerships and more of this kind of training combined with the dedication showed by units like the SAPS FCS unit to put serial rapists behind bars, one can expect to soon see an increase in the arrests of these predators.  

Thank you iTemba Labs for your generous sponsorship!

PAYFAST

Thanx to Daniel Ellis who made a R100 donation to MAB via Payfast! We greatly appreciate your kind gesture!

Lizel meets Gareth

So, the day finally arrived. Gareth Cliff cornered Lizel in a Roman's Store and did a great interview with her - heard by all in Gauteng!

Thanx Roman's Pizza and Blue Planet for organising this! You made Lizel's day!

Radio Pretoria talks to us!

Nice to start the morning with a radio interview! Thanx Radio Pretoria for talking about our project!