Masimanyane’s reach expanding with move to Berea premises
Masimanyane Women’s Rights International has moved to a bigger premises in Berea as the East London-based global NGO expands.
With a dedicated staff of 75, Masimanyane is taking over the old SA National Blood Service (SANBS) building, from where it will be more accessible to the public.
The organisation works with local, national, and global partners to strengthen women’s rights, reduce HIV/Aids, and eradicate violence against women.
It previously operated from offices in Southernwood for 12 years, with a branch in Vincent.
Aiming to empower more women, Masimanyane plans to open offices in Duncan Village and Buffalo Flats before the end of 2024.
“What led to this is that we have expanded the programmes,” Masimanyane’s executive director Dr Lesley Ann Foster said.
“Before, we had a fairly small team of about six people doing public education work and 10 doing outreach.
“Now we have 22 in one programme on prevention.
“We also run the Thuthuzela care centres at Cecilia Makiwane and Grey hospitals. The team has now expanded to 75 people.
“We needed a bigger space to bring everyone together.
“One of the challenges that came with having two offices [Southernwood and Vincent] was that communication would get muddled up.”
She said the organisation had been looking for new premises for some time and was fortunate to be able to rent the former SANBS building.
The new facility is along the taxi route and close to other areas.
“Having everyone under one roof will improve communication among the teams. There will be cross-learning among the teams and will access the same information which is important.”
Foster said this would allow them to reach people more easily and to plan effectively when visiting communities.
She said she would share the wealth of knowledge and skills she had gained internationally with the teams.
The planned offices in Buffalo Flats and Duncan Village would bring services closer to the people.
Their services had also been extended to Gonubie.
“For our partners, it will be great because we do get international partners coming through so there is enough office space for that,” she said.
“We are hopeful that the goals to open these offices will be achieved before the end of the year.”
Foster said that after 28 years of advocacy work she was planning to retire, but looked forward to seeing younger people stepping up to run the organisation.
“I will not be entirely gone, but I will continue to do international advocacy for small programmes.”
As a feather in Masimanyane’s cap, the organisation has trained eight auxiliary social workers who are set to graduate in July.