I Matter NPO officially off the ground as a full-time service

The I Matter NPO, which aims to address social issues in and around the Eden Park community, was officially launched as a full-time service in JD Thomas Community Hall on February 3.

Various stakeholders, including senior police officers, pastors, stakeholders, civil society and others attended the launch.

Coach Natalie Abrahams, also known as Coach Natz, the founder of the I Matter NPO and host of the annual Girl You Know I Matter Women’s Empowerment Conference expressed excitement and hope during the launch.

Although the NPO was founded in Eden Park they also reach out to surrounding areas to address similar problems to those experienced in Eden Park.

Vision for the NPO

“The key reasons for this event are to highlight the collective work done through I Matter and to introduce stakeholders that collaborated with I Matter. My goal for my NPO is to work with men, women and children.

Our focus is to address social ills, social crime prevention and GBVF awareness, support and prevention. We do not yet have a full-time location, but for the time being, I am working from home and the Sports hub. We have applied and are waiting for our land application to be approved.

“The NPO will concentrate on programmes that promote deeper conversations to deal with unresolved trauma. We believe that many social ills are the result of unresolved childhood and adulthood trauma, which can be absent fatherhood, single parents, traumatic divorce or loss of income, poverty, GBV, sexual offences, a dreaded disease, or someone who believes that they do not fit in. As a result, they resort to being withdrawn, purely just existing and become abusive or addicts of drugs, alcohol or porn,” said Abrahams.

Safe space

Abrahams continued to say that Eden Park is rife with gangsterism, especially among young children between 11 and 17 years.

“Through the programmes we will provide, we hope to address the root causes and bring healing to them through workshops, coaching, counselling and finally mentoring, developing them as leaders.

“We have already partnered with Heartlines, Faith IN Action, indiAfrique Training and Development, mental wellness initiatives, SAPS Eden Park and other government organisations on a national level.

“We also want to create a safe space for women, men, and children. The plan is to have one session per weekend with women one week, men the next, and children the following,” said Abrahams.

Abrahams added that she has been working full-time until the end of November 2022. Full-time service has been a passion for a long time.

“What I have discovered is that there are very few places in Eden Park where children can socialise and where there is no substance abuse. We have noticed that young girls get involved with older men because they are constantly exposed to them.

“One of my ambitions is to bring organisations and stakeholders together. We invited other organisations to exhibit their products as well. Our goal is to showcase their products, while also demonstrating that it is possible to run a small business and not compete with others.

“I believe that if we work together, we will multiply the impact we make in our community, province and country. We also want the community to know who our SMMEs are and to encourage them to support local businesses. We also want to allow them to mentor other young people as they start their own businesses because the reality is that jobs will be scarce,” said Abrahams.

Free online session

Abrahams mentioned that she has a free online coaching programme every two weeks, where she does free online sessions to inspire people to live their best lives through group coaching sessions.

“What we aspire to achieve is assist people in identifying their good and bad triggers and finding ways to respond differently to life to live a better life. We also want to introduce wellness programs and create a platform to gain the trust of our people to accept the help available to them.

Woman of Stature Foundation Awards finalist

Abrahams said she has been nominated for the 2023 Woman of Stature Foundation Awards in the coaching and mentoring category.

“The foundation continues to recognise the exceptional talent and hard work of local businesspersons and entrepreneurs. I seek to celebrate diversity in all its forms and to bridge cultural and social differences that can easily sabotage the gift of collectivism and the building of an inspired, empowered collective psyche of South African women who will settle for nothing less than their rightful place in every space – personal and professionals.

“I believe as we empower ourselves and assume every bit of responsibility to do so, we are empowering and building a new nation of women and me.

“It is my vision that through myself and my organisation to channel this message and provide a voice for the de-voiced and voiceless,” said Charlotte du Plessis, the founder and CEO of Woman Of Stature Foundation.

The awards will be held at a gala event on International Women’s Day on March 8 at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways.

To vote for her, click HERE.