Educating Adults About Child Abuse
Child Welfare South Africa (CWSA) is the largest Child Protection, Non-Profit Organisation in South Africa. Established in 1924, CWSA leads in the achievement of a safe and caring environment for all children in South Africa. CWSA comprises of 164 Member Organizations in over 200 communities. Annually, CWSA reaches over 2-million vulnerable children and their families through the structures of its members. CWSA has a head office situated in Midrand, Gauteng and nine Provincial Offices across the country.
Our Key Objective is to protect children from all kinds of abuse including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse and neglect.
Our mission is to promote, protect and enhance the safety, well-being and healthy development of children.
In many of the South African communities, adults are unaware of the signs and symptoms of child abuse and it is our mission to ensure that these adults are educated and are able to identify a child that is being abused either by a family member, friend or someone in their community. In order to achieve this, we have recently launched the #1MillionCupcakesforKids which will enable us to travel to five different areas in Gauteng in Phase One. The areas identified are Alexandra Township, Soweto, Tembisa, Diepsloot and Orange Farm. The project will run for five days and then move onto the next province.
Our team will consist of two facilitators to oversee the project, and four social workers to educate, train and counsel those in need. We will approach the various schools in the area and address the community on the school playing fields. Adults will be addressed on the types of abuse, how to identify the symptoms of abuse and where to report alleged child abuse in the areas in which they live. Fliers will be handed out, summarizing the lessons learned and important telephone numbers in the community.
Should adults need counselling, two of our social workers will be available after the talk to counsel and refer to other facilities if necessary.
In conjunction with the adult training, children will also be given a talk about abuse, and their human rights as stated in the South African constitution. They will also be given a small gift pack containing the flier with the signs and symptoms of abuse, a hygiene pack (soap and towel) for them to take home as a reminder that there is assistance available. Two more social workers will be at the facility to ensure that the children who need advice can approach them.
Our aim is to reach at least 400 adults and 200 children in each area. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to ensure that we allow for social distancing and have the correct protocols in place at all times, thus the numbers have to be kept at a minimum.
The budget for phase one – Gauteng of this project is R114 000.00
Your support will ensure that children are protected in their communities, away from harm and any form of abuse. By educating adults, they are able to take responsibility for identifying perpetrators in the area and reporting abuse to their local officials. At the same time, educating children about their rights is a crucial step towards giving them a voice, knowing that they have the right to report abuse.
For more information, please contact National Fundraising Coordinator on [email protected]