The volunteer-led magazine with ever-changing voices exploring different perspectives on today’s rapidly-evolving world.
South Africa has one of the highest incidences of domestic and gender-based violence in the world. Studies have shown that one in every six women in South Africa is regularly assaulted by her partner, and 36.6% of African women throughout the content have experienced domestic violence by their partners.
There comes a time in all of our lives when we grow weary – reach the point where we simply throw our hands up and say ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ The moments that our knees get weak and force us to take refuge in some place, some thought, some belief, or someone. Reaching the point of desperation isn’t a place of giving up, or admitting defeat – perhaps it is just the humble recognition that we can no longer do it all on our own.
In 1994, rather than trying crimes and violations of human rights committed during the apartheid era in a criminal court, South Africa decided to create the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) where perpetrators could seek amnesty in exchange for true and full accounts of the crimes they committed. The decision centred on the idea of reconciliation, which was a hallmark of the late Nelson Mandela’s leadership.
All of us should ask ourselves the question: Have I done everything in my power to bring about lasting peace and prosperity to my city and country? Nelson Mandela devoted 67 years of his life fighting for social justice and human rights, so it is only fair that the world shows their gratitude by devoting 67 minutes of their time on 18 July, his birthday, doing the same.
One thing I noticed during my six-week stay in South Africa is how obsessed the media is with crime. Standing at Cape Town station and watching the news headlines on the television screens painted a decidedly scary picture: a famous rapper who was murdered; an Orlando Pirates footballer who was also murdered; and an abducted child who was found 17 years after she was kidnapped.
To celebrate the fact it was Human Rights Day this week, Projects Abroad volunteers went into the centre of Cape Town to ask South Africans about the issue of Human Rights. Armed with whiteboards, pens and leaflets detailing 26 different human rights, volunteers set out to inform individuals about their constitutionally guaranteed human rights.
The residents of Lavender Hill have developed various projects to improve their neighbourhood and combat the 42% rate of unemployment. Each of the projects has been created to tackle a particular issue, such as the housing deficiency, and they also provide skills training for the jobless.
As shocking as it may sound, the chance of reoffending in South Africa is 90% according to Clinton Osbourn, programme manager at Young in Prison (YiPSA). Young in Prison is a non-profit organisation that helps rehabilitate young people who have been to prison so that they can go back to school, get a job and start afresh.
In Cape Town, homeless people are numerous and their presence is prominent. You can find them at traffic lights begging for money, outside a McDonalds imploring you to buy them a meal because they have not eaten for days or loitering in front of your favourite bar, waiting to pounce on the next intoxicated person. The daily routine of street people is often too insignificant for society to even give it a second thought. Intrigued by the presumably monotonous lives of these supposedly second-rate citizens, I decided to see what a day in the lives of the homeless is really like.
#Enoughisenough echoed women from the Methodist Church from around the world at the Grand Parade, Cape Town, on Saturday 1 November. Weeks before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, more than 60 protestors dressed in black to express their solidarity with women facing rape, abuse, torture and violence.
