ICT centre to empower survivors
THE 1 000 Women Trust and partners have launched a fully refurbished information and communication technology (ICT) suite at the Saartjie Baartman centre to increase the employability of women at the NGO.
The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children is a one-stop centre for survivors of abuse.
Its vision is the creation of a safe and secure society and a human rights culture where women and children are empowered to exercise their full rights.
The centre accommodates 120 women and children for between four and 10 months. It has an intake section which offers women legal assistance, and a counselling programme for children. These services are free.
The centre also has a substance abuse unit for survivors of genderbased violence who are addicted to substances, and an early childhood development centre for the children.
An outreach programme aims to educate the community about gender-based violence and the resources available to address it.
Director Bernadine Bachar said: “The centre offers counselling to the women and children in the centre and in the community.
“As a shelter, we offer women economic empowerment through our skills development programme.
“We are excited to collaborate with 1 000 Women as we share a common vision.
“To have on-site access to skills development as part of our economic development programme is a very important step towards economic empowerment for our clients.”
1 000 Women Trust programme manager Caroline Peters said: “We are launching a skills lab – a computer centre for young women who are shelter residents.
“Many don’t know how to work with laptops. We are helping the women in the shelters and in the communities of Manenberg, Heideveld, Bonteheuwel and Bridgetown.”
“We are establishing a partnership between the 1 000 Women Trust and the Saartjie Baartman centre.
“When women leave the centre, the ICT centre will have empowered them to have job skills, because many women leave the centre and go back to bread winners who provide economic assistance but who are also abusive and violent.
“Women stay in abusive relationships because of economics but this ICT centre will provide them with the skills to find new jobs.”
Peters said the online computer courses were not only for the shelter residents, but for women in the whole of the Athlone area.
“A lot of women come to the centre with nothing, just to escape from an abusive relationship, and after four months they leave.
“Legal assistance, job skills programs and this ICT program will add to their equipment to find employment and independence,” said Peters.