Born and raised in Pretoria, Marna McDonald has committed her life to helping others while working at the Christelik Maatskaplike Raad Noord (CMRN), a non-profit organisation in Derdepoort.
She never thought she would become a social worker.
After being denied the opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree in psychology, she found herself drawn to the field.
“I was planning to become a psychologist, but I started with studying a degree in social work. When I did not get an opportunity to do a Master’s after my honours in psychology, I carried on with social work,” said McDonald.
She studied for her degree in social work at the University of Pretoria.
Her desire to help others inspired her to become a social worker.
It all started at a young age when her friends would come to her with their problems and seek her advice.
“In high school, my friends would come to me and start talking about their problems,” McDonald said.
After obtaining her degree in social work, she began her career at the CMR branch in Bronkhorstspruit.
Upon completing her time with the NPO, she worked as a social worker for the SAPS, gaining valuable experience.
According to McDonald, when a position became available at the CMR North in Derdepoort, she applied for it.
She intuitively felt it would be the perfect opportunity to combine her love of working with children with her social work expertise.
“I love working with kids and that is why I did my Master’s degree in play therapy,” she said.
Today she is still working for CMR North which provides a wide range of services to families and individuals in need.
These include counselling, social work, home visits and community outreach.
The organisation also has a pre-school where arrangements are made for parents who cannot afford school fees.
“The pre-school we have is mostly for parents who cannot afford schooling for their children. To me, it’s good to see the children coming here instead of them going to pre-schools where parents would have to pay the full amount of the school fee,” McDonald said.
The pre-school receives valuable support from the Midstream community, for which the CMRN is grateful.
McDonald confirmed that the Gauteng Department of Social Development has discontinued its funding for the organisation.
This has had a significant impact on the CMRN’s operations.
“Since April 2022 we had to find funds ourselves,” she said.
Her main goal now is to keep delivering services at the Derdepoort office.
“When the children and parents need social help, they are referred to me, but when they need material assistance, they are referred to my colleague.”
She added that they provide food parcels and run a charity clothing store.
She shared that one of the biggest obstacles she has faced while working at the CMRN has been gaining the trust of the parents.
“Parents are protective of their children but unfortunately, don’t always act in their best interest,” explained McDonald.
“I work hard to gain parents’ trust so that they can be cooperative and let us assist in supporting them.
“Our main goal at the CMRN is to help people in need,” she said.
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