Project Leader: Nocawe Mankayi.
Project Manager: Hazel Black
Tel and Fax: (021) 364 0135
Email: admin@nonceba.org
Website: www.nonceba.org
Changing thousands of lives in a community plagued by abuse.
The Xhosa word Nonceba means ‘concern’ and epitomises the work being conducted on a daily basis. This community based organisation has committed itself to reducing the levels of child abuse (particularly child sexual abuse) and domestic violence whilst simultaneously, providing support to victims and using education to reduce the number of incidents that occur.
From humble beginnings, Nonceba has emerged into a force to be reckoned with, supporting thousands of people every year and active in over 5 large communities in the Western Cape. It was established 16 years ago to address the growing number of incidents of women and child abuse in Khayelitsha . It initially started out as a volunteer-run, one room consulting practice, there are now more than 4 300 individuals per year accessing their support and services. These individuals are made up of women and children between the ages of 0 + 65 years who come from Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Mfuleni, Langa and Nyanga. Their programmes include the following:
• A counselling clinic helps the community deal with the effects of abuse
• A safe house provides safe accommodation to children referred by the court during a trial as well as for victims of trafficking and domestic violence
• The school outreach and after-school care programmes support prevention and introduce early intervention techniques to educate the children about abuse and how to avoid becoming a victim
The interventions are literally life changing. Young mothers who are victims of domestic abuse, have nowhere to turn, no money and no skills to trade on, are given a helping hand. Their infants may be enrolled in a local crèche, while the mother receives skills training and is helped to find work and in turn secures her independence. Young victims of sexual abuse receive counselling and the victim and his, or her family are supported throughout the court proceedings. Nonceba offers a pathway to true empowerment.
In a situation where the police force no longer offers the services of a specialised child protection unit and is battling capacity issues, Nonceba is an example of a valuable community-based partner that is capable of bolstering the services of an under-resourced state welfare system.
