Help girls overcome their trauma

KwaThema – Nong Foundation for girls needs your help to fund a camping trip for the girls in their centre.

Formed last year, it is an after school care centre for vulnerable young girls who have been abused.

Social worker Moses Molawa says they decided to organise a camping trip for the girls to visit the sea for the first time.

“We realised a lot of them have never visited the sea in their lives and this would be a dream until they start working.

“It will not only be a field trip but also to monitor their behaviour outside their comfort zone and community.

“These girls were picked up in schools after the teachers and social workers identified their problem behaviour,” he says.

Social worker Livingstone Mahlo says they offer the girls life skills training, a Bible-based workshop and help them with their homework from Monday to Friday.

“We are happy with the improvement in their behaviour ever since they were enrolled into the programme.

“They are able to interact with their peers better without bullying them.

“Their teachers are also giving us feedback that they are interactive in class and their schoolwork is improving.

“We are happy one of the girls was elected to speak in the children’s parliament recently to represent her peers,” he says.

Chaplain Miesie Matsepo-Nong says she offers the girls spiritual counselling to help them get over the trauma they have been through during their abuse.

“We are trying to help by coming up with ways of making it easier for the girls to trust people, especially men, again.

“We want them to know what happened to them is not their fault and they should not blame themselves.

“They are still very young, have a life ahead of them and don’t need the trauma they suffered at the hands of the perpetrators to ruin it,” she says.

Miesie says they are pleading with business people in the area and other stakeholders to come forward to help make the girls’ dream of visiting the sea come true.