A NPO which supports children who have been victims of sexual abuse has received a R20,000 donation from a Western Cape outsourcing business.
Safeline, which provides therapeutic counselling to children, and awareness and prevention programmes amongst various geographical areas including Athlone, Grassy Park, Delft and Mitchells Plain, has received the five-figure donation from business outsourcing specialist, Sigma Connected.
The money will go towards supporting the work the charity’s social and community workers do helping hundreds of children, parents and educators in local schools and communities as part of their awareness and prevention work. These programmes empower the community to identify sexual abuse and to report it immediately.
Safeline was nominated for the donation by Jasmine Petersen, a learning and development team manager at Sigma Connected, whose mother also works at the charity.
She said: “As a mum myself, I have a genuine interest in the amazing work Safeline does in some of the Western Cape communities. I’ve seen and heard some heartbreaking stories so I didn’t hesitate to put them forward to receive a donation through our Community Foundation.
“Sadly, many children have been, or are, in danger of sexual abuse, so the work of Safeline, alongside teachers, hospitals, community social workers and the police, is vital. They make a difference to hundreds of young lives every year and their outreach, education and holiday programmes take place in libraries, ECD centres, community centres which is located close to our offices in Grassy Park and Mitchells Plain, so we can see first-hand the difference they are making.”
Rochelle Philander, Director at Safeline added: “We are very appreciative of the donation from Sigma Connected. The money will be used to help promote our BIBLIO School December holiday programme in Mitchells Plain, as well as providing activities and a meal for the children, as many are left unsupervised during the holidays and without a meal.
“Ultimately, support from local businesses like Sigma Connected allows us to run the programmes for many years to come.”
