NICRO Kimberley	+ 27 (0)53 831-1715
NICRO De Aar	+ 27 (0)53 631-2267
NICRO Hartswater	+ 27 (0)05 474-0060
NICRO Okiep	+ 27 (0)27 744-1496
NICRO Upington	+ 27 (0)54 331-2647

NICRO Northern Cape was first established as the South African Prisoners’ Aid Association in Kimberley in 1912. By the early seventies services had been extended to include Okiep and surrounds. Today the organisation renders services from five service points that, together, cover a large portion of this vast province.

In addition to offering NICRO’s four major programmes, the province manages the implementation of the Galeshewe Youth Initiative, an urban renewal programme funded by the Northern Cape Department of Social Development, which offers significant development opportunities to young people from the Galeshewe community in Kimberley.

At the request of the Department of Social Services, NICRO Northern Cape also opened an office and commenced service delivery in Phillipstown in November 2003. Located 60 kilometres from De Aar, Phillipstown is a typically under-resourced and poverty-stricken rural community. A NICRO social worker and two development workers are currently involved in spearheading the establishment of a fully-fledged development agency comprising key role players, stakeholders and members of the community, which will assume the responsibility of developing and implementing a sustainable development plan for Phillipstown. A committee has been established and an application was recently submitted to the National Department of Social Development to register the Khanyisa Development Agency as a non-governmental organisation.

Community Victim Support

Introduced in January 2003, NICRO Northern Cape’s Community Victim Support Programme is operative in semi-rural Hartswater and Jan Kempdorp. Victim support services include trauma debriefing, crisis intervention, counselling, and the running of support groups, with a special support group for child victims of domestic violence also having been established. Women and children, most of whom are survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, together form the vast majority of our clients. Much time is also afforded to training and building the capacity of other role players and community members, including NICRO volunteers who are actively involved in frontline service delivery, to ensure an effective and victim sensitive service.

Diversion and Youth Development

The Diversion Programme for children in conflict with the law is a particular focus of our work and is offered in De Aar, Kimberley, Okiep and Upington. Young people who have committed a crime are referred to the organisation as an alternative to facing criminal charges and appearing in court. The Diversion and Youth Development Programme incorporates a comprehensives range of interventions, each of which has been specifically designed to meet the needs of our young clients:

The Youth Empowerment Scheme, an eight-session life skills programme for first time young offenders that assists participants to build a positive, strong sense of self, resist peer pressure, communicate their needs clearly and respectfully, and to solve problems in a non-violent manner ;
Pre-Trial Community Service, which offers young offenders the opportunity of serving the community they have wronged ;
Family Group Conferencing and Victim Offender Mediation, both of which involve the victim and are geared towards repairing the damage caused and making plans to prevent the young person from re-offending;
The Journey Leadership Programme, an intensive therapeutic intervention and training programme aimed at high-risk youth and serious or multiple offenders that includes life and vocational skills training in addition to community service, adventure education and a wilderness therapy component;
Crime prevention programmes in schools, which are geared towards at-risk youth and young people who have not yet become involved in criminal activities. This initiative assists vulnerable young people to develop their potential by affording them the opportunity of acquiring valuable life skills and empowers them to steer free of crime; and
A special parenting skills programme that runs concurrently with the diversion option into which young offenders have been slotted.

Economic Opportunities Project

The Economic Opportunities Project equips NICRO clients and other marginalised, vulnerable members of the community with the necessary skills and tools for economic re-engagement or to start and improve their own micro enterprises in the informal sector. In addition to providing access to hard skills training opportunities, job placement support and entrepreneurial training programmes, the project also offers comprehensive post-training support or after-care and financial support services. Our economic empowerment services are rendered from business service centres in De Aar.

Offender Reintegration

NICRO Northern Cape’s Offender Reintegration Programme supports, develops and empowers offenders to achieve successful reintegration every step of the way. Services, which commence in prison and continue beyond release, are aimed at prisoners and released offenders as well as their family members. An intensive in-prison group-work intervention, known as the Tough Enough Programme, counselling, family interventions and comprehensive, integrated support services, especially for economic re-engagement, thus ensure that clients receive essential support on both sides of the prison wall. Rigorous work is also undertaken within communities to strengthen and build community resources and support systems for former offenders returning to their families and communities.

In addition to rendering support services to walk-in clients, the majority of whom are former offenders or family members of persons serving a prison sentence, our Offender Reintegration Programme includes the following components:

The Tough Enough Programme (TEP) offered in the Kimberley and Springbok Prisons;
The Esther Lategan Study Fund (providing bursaries for both imprisoned TEP participants and the children of imprisoned persons);
The Creative Arts Competition;
The Mentorship Programme, which provides support and guidance for released Tough Enough Programme participants ; and
Family support services.

Roll of Honour

NICRO Northern Cape would like to pay special tribute to and thank all our donors and benefactors who have made it possible for us to render much-needed services in the province:

The Department of Social Development, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Themba Lesizwe for their generous and committed grant making support;
Our corporate funders, De Beers and Syfrets;
Our governmental and non-governmental partners in the province – we achieve service excellence as a result of our working together to serve our communities; and
Our volunteers who give selflessly of themselves to serve others.

Would You Consider Helping Us to Make a Difference?

NICRO Northern Cape has a small staff compliment of only 12 personnel. Volunteers greatly assist us to increase our capacity and render more widespread, effective services. In exchange for their vital support and contributions, volunteers are afforded the chance of attending workshops, training sessions and accessing self-development opportunities. If you are able to volunteer your services or expertise, please contact our provincial office and offer your assistance, or e-mail nicronc@telkomsa.net .

Volunteers are needed:

To assist us in facilitating Diversion programmes for young offenders;
To mentor young people;
As counsellors and advisors at community victim support centres;
As business mentors for clients with newly established micro enterprises;
As community support people for those released from prison;
To mentor former offenders;
As administrative and fundraising assistants;
As event organisers; and
To assist with building maintenance

Alternatively, any donations in cash or kind, no matter how big or small, would be deeply appreciated. We are in urgent need of:

Office furniture such as chairs and lounge suites,
Television sets for waiting rooms, and
Any equipment or assistance to upgrade the office in Okiep, which is located in an old house that was transferred to NICRO following the closure of the copper mine.

News Flash – A Success Story

In 2003 Beauty Thomas joined NICRO Northern Cape as a volunteer, assisting with the implementation of our Diversion programmes and administrative tasks. When the Phillipstown project commenced, she applied for but was not successful in securing a position with the organisation. Instead of becoming disheartened, Beauty was more committed than ever to serving the community and went on to successfully launch a community food garden in February 2005. She is also involved in a social auxiliary worker learnership programme with the Department of Social Services in De Aar.