NPC hopes to establish shelter for women

With the hopes of helping abused women and children, NPC House of Sarah and Hagar has appealed to the community for assistance to establish a shelter for those in need.

Based in Edenvale, the NPC acts as a conduit for other shelters as it attempts to establish its shelter.

Founded by Edenvale resident Terry Jagwar, Primrose resident Fatima Iqbal and Wychwood resident Lucrecia Baartman, the NPC hopes to protect, heal and improve the lives of women and their children who have been abused.

The NPC believes shelters for abused women play a critical role in combating domestic abuse, violence and homelessness.

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It was registered as an NPC last August and is in the process of registering as a NPO.

Terry said over the years she has helped numerous women, unofficially.

“I’ve helped some women for a few days some for a month. It was just a natural response to help.”

The decision to launch House of Sarah and Hagar began when she went on a trip to KwaZulu-Natal last year.

“While at the coast, I was speaking to a friend and the topic of abusive relationships came up. I phoned Fatima and we decided to start the NPC,” explained Terry.

Fatima said before the organisation was registered, one of the challenges was seeing posts on social media about women experiencing abuse and not being able to do anything about it.

“With House of Sarah and Hagar, we want to accommodate everyone,” she said.

Terry said one of the challenges abused women face when leaving an abusive relationship is the lack of shelters and often the rules associated with specific shelters.

She said in some instances shelters do not allow or do not have the facilities for children or do not allow children over a certain age.

“We want to prevent that,” highlighted Terry.

To prevent further trauma to the children or forcing the mothers to return to the abusive relationship, House of Sarah and Hagar hopes to create a sanctuary for mothers and children.

Terry said in SA there are 75 registered women shelters, 65% of which are run privately by NGOs.

“With over 30 million women in SA, it’s believed that one in five women or 20% of women experience some form of abuse daily,” said Terry.

By establishing a shelter, the NPC hopes to give women affected by abuse educational tools and resources to empower themselves.

Terry said the five core pillars of the NPC’s constitution are:
• Sheltering women and children and providing a place of safety.
• Caring for children.
• Providing education for children while they are at the shelter.
• Providing a feeding programme.
• Empowering women through sustainable skills development.

The NPC has already started discussions with the Gauteng Department of Education to ensure it meets the requirements for an academic facility at the shelter when the time comes.

Terry said the women working with House of Sarah and Hagar can relate with those they are helping, as some of them have left abusive relationships themselves.

Besides having an understanding of what the victims go through, Terry said House of Sarah and Hagar consists of a network of volunteers that includes paediatricians, clinical psychologists and other medical personnel.

To raise funds for its shelter, the NPC will host an empowerment programme on surviving narcissistic abuse on August 28.

The programme, which was written by Jenni Hunter, will be presented by her and will have several guest speakers.

It will be held at the Hellenic Cyprus Club, 10 Concord Road in Bedfordview and tickets can be purchased on Computicket at R450.

“Community members need to stop looking the other way your daughter could be the next victim or son the next abuser or vice versa,” said Jenni.

Terry said besides attending the programme, attendees will receive a book that contains information that can be used to help others.

Community members willing to assist the NPC to establish a shelter or those who are willing to donate or lease a property to the NPC can contact it at victors@hosah.co.za, through its Facebook page House of Sarah and Hagar or phone Terry on 060 809 4798.

Contact the newsroom by emailing: 
Marietta Lombard (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za,  or (Journalists) Busi Vilakazi busiv@caxton.co.za