Centres of hope is how the sponsors describe four new domestic violence safe houses in the Eastern Cape.
Centres of hope is how the sponsors describe four new domestic violence safe houses in the Eastern Cape.
The MTN SA Foundation, in partnership with the Eastern Cape provincial government and the Department of Social Development, have funded the following centres: Ntabe Themba White Door Centre of Hope, Chris Hani; Matatiele White Door Centre of Hope, Matatiele; Eluncedweni White Door Centre of Hope, Keiskamahoek; and Mount Frere White Door Centre of Hope, Elubacweni.
All the centres are fully furnished, said Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, general manager of the MTN SA Foundation.
Assistance includes ensuring the day-to-day support of the centres, as well as the sustainability of the interventions. Those seeking shelter would receive support ranging from counselling to legal or social services intervention, Hairwadzi said.
"Gender-based violence is a breach of human rights and quality of life, and all of us are affected by it in some way or another," Mtunzi-Hairwadzi said. Hairwadzi said the houses provide safety for anyone who is abused, violated or feeling unsafe, whether they are male or female, and even young children are taken in.
"We know for a fact that gender-based violence has no boundaries," she said. "It cuts across societies, class, race and so on."
The three partners have undertaken to ensure that at least four homes are available for victims in the province.
For information about the Domestic Violence Safe House in Grahamstown, contact the Grahamstown Police Station at 046 603 9111 or call Sergeant Gaye McKenzie at 082 374 0937.
