Steyn said she started Domestic Watch when she realised that staff needed to be educated about criminals and their behaviour.
“Too many of our precious staff are being blamed for letting criminals into the properties in which they live and/or work. It is such a shame, how can we blame them when they know no better?” she asked.
“We need to educate them, enlighten them and make them critically aware of who could be attacking under a disguise, what techniques are being used to get them to open the gates and doors, what to do and certainly what not to do.”
Steyn bases her teaching model on incentives and motivation. “I tell [the domestic workers] that they are special – I am there to build them up.”
Read about Domestic Watch meetings for July
The drama enthusiast tries her best to keep lessons informal and fun, believing that motivation is her job – she is there to entertain, inspire and teach.
“We don’t realise how special [domestic workers] are; it is because of them that South Africans are able to work without having to worry about housekeeping. These women [maintain] the upkeep [of] beautiful homes.”
Registration is R40 per lesson, but Steyn emphasises that no domestic worker will be left out because of financial restrictions.
She concluded by highlighting that the most important outcome which she aims for in her classes is creating safety by emphasising the safety of the domestic workers themselves. She believes it is only by caring about their own safety that domestic workers, or anybody, will care about the safety of others.
Mad’s first Domestic Watch meeting in Paulshof will be held on 29 July at the ER24 Training Centre, Manor 1, Cambridge Office Park on the corner of Stonehaven and Witkoppen roads at 12pm.
Details: madpenny@absamail.co.za
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