The Angels Reintegration Centre for Ladies recently hosted a fundraiser. The home has been established for women with traumatic backgrounds to heal and reintegrate smoothly into society. The morning was facilitated by Bianca Vosloo, Carmen Gerhardt and Walter Rocha – owners and directors at the home exclusively for women.
The first week of November saw the Angels Reintegration Centre for Ladies’ fundraiser where their sponsor VTC Africa invited some of their business partners. The platform allowed the organisation to help spread the organisation’s mandate and inspire collaboration on the mission for a safe space for women. The event was hosted in the garden of the safe haven for women who have survived from trauma-based backgrounds. This included, but is not exclusive to, abusive relationships, prostitution or sex-trafficked survivors.
Speeches were given by siblings Sabrina and Rafael Tavares of VTC Africa which touched on the importance of the non-profit as well as the importance of community involvement where there is leadership invested in positive change. The home has space for 10 women and currently houses five, and is just under two years old.
Sabrina touched on her experience as a student and the uproar in spaces of tertiary education where gender-based violence incidents have sparked vigilantism due to insufficient action by law enforcement. Tavares also made reference to 16 days of activism which begins on 25 November to 10 December. This point was picked up by Gerhardt where she expanded on this year’s theme ‘Count on Me’ which encourages the involvement of individuals in the protection of women and children. This individualised approach has sought to remind citizens that the sum of every person’s activism has formulated the whole.
Photo: Ofentse Moduka
Her sentiments can be viewed with the national uproar in South Africa during the first week of September in mind. The list of perpetrators of gender-based violence formulated on Twitter accounts through anonymous submissions, was sparked by the murder of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana.
Vosloo concluded with her personal journey and remarked. “These things have always been happening, it didn’t start a few months ago.”
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