Push is the acronym for ‘Persevere Until Something Happens’. Lorna Fisher heads this Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) based on the border of Kliptown and Eldorado Park extension seven.
PUSH was founded 16 years ago and Fisher is the founder and project manager at the helm of the organisation.
The organisation was founded out of a need to counter the growing unemployment rate amongst recently graduated matriculants who found themselves without any employable skills and ill-equipped to carve a career path for themselves in a South Africa characterised by an ever-weakening Rand and rampant HIV and Aids infection rate.
The fallout from these has resulted in an ever higher teenage pregnancy rate and high incidences of drug and alcohol abuse.
In partnership with the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) since 2007, Fisher mentors male and female beneficiaries who receive a monthly stipend in their roles as caregivers to children infected and affected by HIV and Aids.
This coupled with SETA accredited training, prepared beneficiaries for a role in the mainstream economy as they acquire marketable skills.
In addition to this, the centre provides free HIV and Aids screening, eye and hearing tests for children and grownups in the area, as well as a host of other programmes aimed at educating our youth around grooming issues, personal development plans and entrepreneurship, to name a few.
Fisher says that “Personal grooming and hygiene are essential in cultivating confidence one’s abilities and reduces health risks tremendously.”
The centre can be contacted on 011 945 2050 or at their website: www.push.org.za for further information.
