LIMPOPO- The Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP) was delighted when they received a R14 000 financial injection for their trauma centre, which offers social assistance to victims of rape and domestic violence, substance and drug abuse, and other heinous crimes within the Thohoyandou area.
The donation was made by Miss Bachelorette South Africa finalist, Andani Munonde, who shares their zero-tolerance attitude towards any form of abuse, victimisation or discrimination.
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The official hand-over was done in Sibasa last Friday. Munonde said the donation was her share to nation building and community development, and serves to encourage projects and initiatives like the TVEP to continue making a difference in their respective communities.
The Miss Bachelorette South Africa pageant is a women empowerment project that is aimed at fighting gender-based violence and femicide, recognising and empowering mature, unmarried women between the ages of 25 and 50 through philanthropy, fashion and beauty.
It also focuses on making role models out of them so that young girls can see the importance and benefits of being financially and emotionally independent. It furthermore creates a platform for these women to build progressive business and social relationships. This is the only pageant in South Africa that focuses specifically on unmarried women.
TVEP’s programme director, Tshilidzi Masikhwa, thanked Munonde for her contribution towards the centre. He said the idea to start the trauma centre was to assist victims in overcoming that initial shock. “At the time we had many financial constraints and relied on hand-outs from the local business fraternity, but we kept marching on to ensure that a friendly and healthy environment for victims exists in our society,” he said.
The centre offers counselling to victims to buffer psychological problems. Munonde’s donation, Masikhwa said, will not only benefit the victims, but will also strengthen the volunteers’ administration and provide more privacy to the information obtained from the victims.
