Thanks to your generous support, the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children’s  doors have remained open to serve women and children who are survivors of domestic abuse.

We are delighted by the response. Although there is always a need for funding to ensure that we are able to continue our much-needed work with survivors of domestic violence, the overwhelming response from the people of Cape Town has ensured that we have overcome our immediate funding crisis.

A total of R1,1-million has been secured from the Department of Social Development and a funding agreement has been signed.

It has been most heartening to see the varied responses from the public. Support came literally in all shapes and sizes! Over a weekend, we had three little boys come to the Centre. They could barely see over the counter-top, but each one handed over an envelope containing their savings. With the help of their parents, they were able to contribute an amount of R1 350.00.

An 88-year-old woman gave a donation of R100 and committed to a monthly debit order in support of SBC. The Centre also received goods in kind, ranging from food to clothing. Some donors chose to remain anonymous, making it impossible to thank them directly.

Supporters of the Centre have ongoing plans in terms of fundraising and we are excited to see where these initiatives will take us. With the exceptional media coverage that we received, we have been able to reach a whole new group of friends and donors, who have been able to raise enough funding to avert a crisis. This has put us in the fortunate position of being able to look to the future in terms of fundraising planning.

Thus far, an amount of R379 670 has been raised through this effort. If you would like to support the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, contact them on (021) 633 5287.

Thank you!

The Director and staff of the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children

AMAZING COMMUNITY RESPONSE

There has been an overwhelming response from the public to the media reports of the Saartjie Baartman Centre funding crisis. People have been phoning and emailing, wanting to know what they can do to assist us. Their generosity – your generosity – has been incredible, and donations, whether monetary or in kind, keep on arriving.

A pensioner came to the Centre with a R1000 donation. Another pensioner phoned and said her marriage had been an abusive one, and if there had been a Saartjie Baartman Centre then, she would have had a different life. She would be making a monthly contribution to the Centre, even if it meant she would eat less.

Nancy Richards, SAfm presenter and freelance journalist, is raising funds by walking with a friend along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She started on 21 May and has asked that if anyone would like to donate to her campaign, Walking for Women, they can type her name into the search box on www.backabuddy.co.za

Another very enterprising fundraising venture has been started by two sisters, Marelise and Amelia van der Merwe. They aim to raise R100 000 in 10 days to keep the Centre open, by encouraging 20 people a day to each donate R500. To read more about their campaign, visit http://100-grand-in-ten-days.blogspot.com