PLAY TIME. A jungle gym that was recently installed for the many abused children in the care of Cynthia Dinalane. Pictures: Hein Kaiser
How many people would just up and quit their jobs, step out of a career path, and dedicate their lives to others?
Probably not many, but Kempton Park resident Cynthia Dinalane did exactly that.
In 2019, she quit her job in the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality’s environmental department and launched the Tshegofatso Rona Welfare shelter for women and children who fell victim to gender-based violence (GBV).
“The East Rand is rife with GBV,” said Dinalane. “It has become a cancerous aspect of a society that’s unfortunately not showing any sign of remission.”
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Her shelter, birthed from Dinalane’s decision not to sit on her hands and watch, but do something about improving the lives of others, offers a haven to women and children who have faced unimaginable horrors.
She said there is a shortage of shelters.
“There’s no place of safety around us. The rate of GBV is extremely high. That is why I decided to risk my livelihood and my children’s and help people,” she said. Her family home was transformed.
Managing the shelter is a monumental task. It is home to 60 individuals, each with their unique experiences of trauma and abuse.
There, they enjoy three meals daily, counselling, skills development and a place to rest their heads. The operation of this haven relies heavily on the support of the local community.
Dinalane acknowledged this support, saying: “I depend on the community. They come and give us food, nappies for the small babies.” Her reliance on community aid is primarily because the government has not shared a penny.
“Ministers, MECs and other officials have visited, they have made promises, but nothing was ever delivered,” she said. “This is why I don’t even bother asking for help from the government.”
At Tshegofatso Rona Welfare, Dinalane’s vision extends beyond offering shelter.
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She aims to empower the residents, helping them to rebuild their lives with dignity and independence.
“A woman will go out of this shelter when she’s empowered, when she’s working, when she can stand on her own,” she said, highlighting the importance of not just providing refuge but also facilitating long-term stability and self-reliance.
“Procedure dictates that women and children should enjoy a maximum stay of six months, but how can anyone recover from years of abuse and get their lives back together, in such a short period of time?” she asked.
Some of the children in her home have been there from the age of a few months, sometimes weeks after birth. She raises them as her own.
And these days, many of the women she takes in are not even from her immediate vicinity.
“I have people coming in all the time, children, women who have been abused and hurt, raped. The need is so great in South Africa for care. I get people arriving from other parts of Johannesburg and these days, even other cities, and provinces,” she said.
“We are praying to God that we can get more resources so that we can help more women and children,” she said.
Dinalane said she was already turning cents over a few times but is eyeing a property for sale next door to her premises, to be able to convert it and accommodate more domestic refugees from GBV.
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Since opening the centre just before the Covid pandemic hit, 87 women and many children were afforded a place of safety in her three-bedroom home, now with outhouses and temporary Wendy houses
“It’s about giving these women and children a chance to heal, to grow and to dream of a better, safer future,” she said.
“GBV is spread equally across all cultures,” said Dinalane, adding that not enough women are standing up to their abusers, packing their bags and heading out the door to a better life.
“People just need to pluck up the courage and speak up. It should not matter whether, culturally, it is acceptable to stand up to your man. Nobody has given him the right to hurt you or a child. And a different, happier and more fulfilling life where there is no abuse, is possible,” she said.
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