West Fleur Hospital victim facility opened

When MAB undertook to help rape victims at Wes Fleur Hospital (Atlantis) earlier this year, we did not know that it was going to happen so fast! Securing a container and finding a sponsor has proven one of the most difficult challenges we have faced for many year. Until MAB was chosen as the beneficiary charity for Old Mutual and Media 24 on Mandela Day. 1000's of comfort and snack packs turned into a facility, when Media 24 agreed to sponsor the container and Old Mutual Foundation the furnishings and fittings.  The facility is truly a simbol of what can be done when companies support charities. This facility was opened on 13 December. It has a seperate waiting area and medical examination room for rape victims.

Thank you to Media 24 and Old Mutual Foundation for your great support!

Sponsors rewarded!

Monique & Collin Cullis (Cape Talk)

The WC MAB office hosted a breakfast at the Pinelands City Lodge for Cape Town sponsors who could not be at the AGM. These sponsors supported MAB during the 2011/12 financial year. Included in this group was two local radio stations, Cape Talk and Radio Tygerberg, who's combined sponsorship was more than R 100 000. Rotary Claremont sponsored more than R 200 000 during this period, and this funding was used to open Child Friendly Facilities in Khyalitsha and Milnerton. 

Thank you very much to Graham and his staff at Pinelands City Lodge for treating us all like kings and thank you to all our donors without whom we would not have been able to do the work!

Our first Mpumalanga facility!

MAB opened it's first Child Friendly Facility in Mpumalanga yesterday. This was done to the notes of the police band and great happiness from the FCS officers who was astounded with the new container. The two-room container is a full facility with assessment and a monitoring room and audio visual recording facilities. This project was made possibly by the generous support of Roman's Pizza and their "Wipe that smile on your face" project. MAB child-friendly reporting facilities can also be found in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

MAB opens facility on West Rand

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Roman's Pizza, MAB was able to open the yet another Child Friendly Facility. This time at the Krugersdorp Child Protection unit on the West Rand. Thanx to Bonnie and the Roman's Pizza team for your great support!

MAB AGM HOSTED

It was a wonderful reunion of sponsors and long time friends at the MAB Annual General Meeting for 2011/12 hosted on 6 Dec at Afrique Boutique in Johannesburg. A group of nearly 50 sponsors, faithbased groups, media and SAPS officers attended this event. Included in this group four SAPS generals!

During her CEO feedback, Monique Strydom thanked all for their loyal support without these projects could not have been done. Some of the highlights in this report are:

• The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the SAPS National Office
• Securing R 1.150 000 in non-monetary sponsorship
• And the assisting of 13 000 children in the last year. 

Guest speaker, General Magda Stander (Retired Deputy National Commissioner) entertained the audience with the challenges and funny moments of being a woman in the police. 

Major sponsors and supporters where also honoured with special certificates.

However the highlight of the day was a special birthday song by Marilyn Monroe, a green frog, the Beatles and the Chipmunks to MAB - who turned 10 years old this year!!

Ceres Opening

We had a great morning in Ceres with Roman's Pizza sponsor, Bonnie De Klerk and a surprise visit by General Lamoer. This special event was the opening of the child-friendly room at Ceres FCS unit. This unit is situated in a high risk area with a lot of abuse because of substance abuse.

“PUT THEIR FACES ON LAMP POSTS” SAYS TOP COP

“The faces of sexual offenders should be put on lamp posts”, were the words of WC Provincial Commissioner, General Arno Lamoer, at the opening of a child-friendly room in Ceres. He stated that the Western Cape has a “Hall of shame for drunken driving”, but it is more important to make the sexual offenders known to the public. Actioning a sexual offences register will also help in the fight against child abuse.

The opening of the Matla A Bana child-friendly room at Ceres Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit was one the many projects implemented Matla A Bana during the 16 Days of Activism of No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign during this week. This is one of the first facilities of its kind in the rural Western Cape countryside and the child-friendly assessment room will create a safe environment for children to disclose in and be assisted. According to General Lamoer, child abuse rates here are much higher than in the city, due to the excessive substance abuse in these areas. This is the ninth facility implemented by Matla A Bana in the Western Cape, with the last two being the victim room at Paarl Hospital and a reporting facility at Stellenbosch FCS unit, which was also launched this week.

“We must stop campaigning and live the lifestyle of making the world of women and children better”, Genl Lamoer challenged companies and charities, whilst applauding Matla A Bana for doing just that. He also challenged men in South Africa to stand up. According to him 98% of the perpetrators are men and it is time that men stand up, admit that they are abusers and say sorry. “How is it possible that an adult male can take off the nappy of a one year old child and rape her?”, is the kind of question he asks every day when he reads about these cases in his daily crime stats reports. Even though he is an experienced police officer, he is still sickened by what men do to children. He put action to his sentiments this year when he placed a special group, “Men for change” in charge of the SAPS 16 Days projects.

The Ceres FCS unit serves a vast rural community stretching as far as the Koue Bokkeveld on the one side and the Warm Bokkeveld on the other. This unit has some of the highest incidences of sexual offences against children in the Western Cape, but also some of the highest successes. The FCS units in the Western Cape were responsible for securing 39 life sentences this year against sexual perpetrators.

Matla A Bana was founded by ex-hostage, Monique Strydom, who applauded this special police unit for the work they are doing. Not only for arresting perpetrators, but for taking such special care of the child victims. The officers of the Ceres unit played an active part in creating the facility by doing the building alternations to create the room themselves. They were however strapped for funding to finish the facility and this is when Matla A Bana with the help of Roman’s Pizza stepped in. Matla A Bana will be opening an eight facility at Muizenberg FCS unit early in the New Year. This facility serves a large portion the Southern Suburbs.

Whilst the police and organisations like Matla A Bana, will work effortlessly to stop the abuse of children, this will only happen once men take responsibility. If you are a man and in a leadership position and would like to join the campaign to stop child abuse, you can contact Matla A Bana on matlapr@mweb.co.za