Early in February, Grahamstown advocate Nickie Turner handed over 31 comfort kits – each box contains a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a soft toy and a pair of panties for rape victims – to the Makana Rape Survivors Support Group.
Early in February, Grahamstown advocate Nickie Turner handed over 31 comfort kits – each box contains a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a soft toy and a pair of panties for rape victims – to the Makana Rape Survivors Support Group.
At an event to hand over another 98 rape survivor kits on Friday 11 March, barely five weeks later, half of those had already been given to victims in Grahamstown.
The survivors support group has or more than 10 years been providing services to women, children, and sometimes men and boys, who have been sexually assaulted. Volunteers support the victim through the hospital examination, help open a case with the police and offer advice and backup throughout everything that follows, including the trial.
At Friday’s event, Turner, a senior advocate in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, explained why the comfort kits are so important.
"It came to my attention last year that the hospital here in Grahamstown is not supplied with comfort kits any more for victims of rape," Turner told Grocott's Mail. "This concerns me because particularly children have their underwear taken away for forensic purposes, and it's so undignified to leave the hospital without any underwear and no method of cleaning up after the medical examination."
Earlier this year, Turner put out a plea to the greater Grahamstown community.
"The response has been absolutely phenomenal. Today we're here because of a collaborative effort between members of the community, VG, Kingswood and DSG Junior," Turner said on Friday.
"Together they have provided over 100 comfort kits which will be provided to both police stations in Grahamstown. And I know that they're going to make their recipients very happy."
Turner said the fact that at least of the 31 handed over last month had already been used proved there was a demand for them – "not only for girls, but boys too, as well as adults".
This time, three schools were involved in assembling and handing over the 98 kits to the support group, and Rotary has added its support.
The schools were Victoria Girls' High School, which raised money and made up the kits; the Diocesan School for Girls, which covered the shoe boxes in which the kits are stored; and Kingswood Junior, who collected and donated 200 teddies to Rotary, who will use them to make up more comfort kits.
From Rotary, Vijay Sonne and Suzette Green were there to introduce Mthuthuzeli,- the new mascot for the support group.
“Mthuthuzeli means comfort,” explained Green, who is chairperson of Rotary.
Sonne and Green said they had both read about the appeal.
"We were both on the same page," Green said.
Sonne said the Club took it to the Board, which decided to adopt the project.
"At the moment it's run on an ad hoc basis, involving schools and the Grahamstown public. We're just making up packs as we go along," Sonne said.
In the long run, they intend collecting the contents from various companies and turning it into a more formal, long-term project.
Sonne and Green said they planned to formalise it through getting major national companies to provide their contents.
“We also want to start providing string bags, which look nicer, and which the children can use afterwards too, said Green.
Through the Full Gospel Church, Rotary received 60 of each of the items for the kits. Then they received a call from Kingswood Junior, which had held a competition to collect teddies for the kits.
"Every child was challenged to bring a soft toy or a teddy. So between Vijay and I we have around 230, if not more, teddies," Green said.
"We are just so glad to be part of this very worthy cause, collecting something for these children of Grahamstown. We feel their hurt and we're trying to do something to make it better for them."
Turner described the handover as a magnificent collaborative effort.
"It has benefited in a practical way victims of crimes, particularly rape."
She said funding for the support group caregivers and their services was provided by the Department of Social Development.
“This funding also support the safe house for women,” Turner said. “It offers protection to women and their dependent children when there has been rape or domestic violence.”
The safe house and the support group are accessed through the Grahamstown and Joza police stations.
Turner said a total of around 10 cases of rape are reported every month at both stations.
“Many of these victims are young children,” Turner said.
Beverley Ramstad, chairperson of the Makana Rape Survivors Support Group, said the organisation was very grateful for the initiative.
"The number of young people becoming victims of rape is increasing," Ramstad said, "Very often it's youngster against youngster."
Each kit contains a facecloth, bar of soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, a little teddy and a pair of panties.
Toothbrushes and soap, bought to go into new kits to be made up.
