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projects
Mediation Training — Georgina Mbambo
Skills Training — Candy Nxusani
Fieldwork Supervision — Mike Page
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aims
The main aim of the programme is to
provide training in non-violent means of resolving conflicts with communities in and
around Cape Town, through the training of
community mediators. In addition, a hard skills
component is made available to those mediators who
are keen to learn self-employment skills.
activities
Our mediation training manual was
completed and is now in use at the Centre. It has
also been made available to other organisations on request.
When communities accuse the police of
not doing their job effectively, we contact them to try and resolve the issues. At
Manenberg police station, our women mediators are
given a room to work from to help combat women and child abuse. Our mediator trainees
have also assisted at other police stations when they were doing their practical work.
Two policemen have undergone a
five-month course in mediation training.
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context
We work in areas of Cape Town that
are affected by high levels of unemployment, functional illiteracy, domestic violence
and child abuse as well as high levels of crime in general.
Most of our clients live in informal
settlements with communal sanitary facilities and
water. This creates an unhygienic environment as there is no one responsible for keeping
the facilities clean and in good condition.
Without viable alternatives, people turn to making money through shebeens (drinking houses
in the townships) and selling drugs. Crime is very high in these areas and includes
common assault, murder, women and child abuse.
The area of Manenberg has been caught up
in gang warfare for months. Many schoolchildren have been caught up in gang activities.
They are manipulated into selling drugs without protection, and are sometimes shot at,
injured or killed during fights. Even innocent bystanders get caught up. The only
health centre for Manenberg families has security guards to guard the clinic and escort staff
to work and back to their homes. Women have become influential by negotiating with
gang leaders to stop intimidating people. |
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