NICRO Free State has a staff
component of 13 personnel who
deliver services from four service
points in the province:
Bloemfontein, Bethlehem,
Kroonstad and Qwa-Qwa, the
latter having been established early
in January 2004. A total of 5,007
individual members of the
community benefited from
NICRO’s interventions, the
majority of whom were victims of
crime, most notably rape and
domestic violence.
NICRO Free State is managed by a small group of very
dedicated management members from the community:
Mr Neville van Niekerk who represents the business
sector and currently serves as chair;
Mr Goliath, who was previously directly involved in the
Diversion Programme as a volunteer;
Dr Aronstam, one of our honorary life members who
was instrumental in the establishment of the first rape
crisis centre in Bloemfontein; and
Ms Foster, who also serves as a Community Victim
Support volunteer.
Our dedicated volunteers provide frontline services ranging
from crisis intervention to the integral involvement in the
running of information sessions, diversion and youth
development programmes. Thanks to the assistance of 40
highly motivated and experienced community volunteers,
staff have been afforded the opportunity of focussing on
capacity building of role players and community structures,
as well as networking and the establishment of vital
partnerships, more especially with government departments.
NICRO Free State is represented on 13 forums, task teams
and committees, which facilitates our working closely with
the community as well as the criminal justice system. During
July and August 2003, the organisation arranged several
events to showcase its work and to market its services
vigorously throughout the province. These included:
Youth crime prevention marches in Bloemfontein,
Kroonstad and Bethlehem;
A special volunteer function to acknowledge and pay
tribute to all victim support workers;
A wine tasting evening for NICRO’s management and
sponsors; and
The Creative Arts Award function for offenders participating in our annual creative arts competition.
DEEP
BETWEEN MOUNTAINS
Deep
between mountains lies Aasvoelberg Buiteskool
Deep
between mountains Nature reigns and guides
Deep
between mountains NICRO dwell and resides
Deep
between mountains great fathers, great mothers
and
great people are born
Deep
between mountains New leaders are born
Deep
between mountains Independence is the king
Deep
between mountains Care and support is the motto
Rape,
abuse and harassment Rest their last sleep
deep
between mountains offenders Offer, sacrifice and
reconstruct
Nicro,
Nicrolisation,Nicroism, Nicrobility
and
Nicronity
written by Ginger
NICRO Free State is very
proud to report that the organisation’s
financial situation has improved dramatically over the past
few years. With the support of funders and the Department
of Social Development we succeeded in establishing Diversion
services for young people in conflict with the law in Qwa-
Qwa, a much-needed service in an under-resourced rural
area. We are especially indebted to the Vodacom Foundation,
Anglo-American Chairman’s Fund, the National Lottery
Development Trust Fund and Themba Lesizwe for their
generosity and the confidence they show, so tangibly,
in our work.
An organisation is only as good as its staff. NICRO Free State
is fortunate to have dedicated, hardworking and loyal staff.
However, despite its stable financial situation, non-profit
organisations such as ours are not able to compete with the
remuneration packages offered by government and sadly
one of our Diversion workers left our employ to join the
Department of Social Development.
We would like to welcome three new staff members to our
family: Eugene Jason, Lucinda Jacobs and Pinny Letseka. We
trust that they will find their stay with us rewarding and
meaningful. NICRO Free State is indeed blessed with a group
of remarkable young people who not only believe in what they do, but also in the potential of their clients and the
communities they serve.
Nicro Gauteng
ANNE CELE DEPUTY - PROVINCIAL DIRECTOR
Following an expansion process
involving the establishment of four
new offices in Bronkhorstspruit,
Nigel, Springs and Benoni, NICRO
Gauteng now has ten service points
and two sub-offices. Service
delivery, especially those involving
Diversion, to these areas in which
clients were previously not afforded
easy access to services, was
expanded at the request of the
Gauteng Department of Social
Development.
This expansion also resulted into
an increase in the number of staff and the addition of a
financial manager, bookkeeper and a programme specialist
for both the Community Victim Support and Diversion
Programmes. Our previous bookkeeper took up the position
of financial administrator.
The province is extremely pleased to report that the period
under review witnessed a significant increase in support from
its provincial management committee. For the first time in
the history of the province, a management committee showed
keen interest in and assisted with the strategic development
of services. The committee, which has a good mix of skills,
has been divided into two sub-committees, one of which
explores fundraising and marketing opportunities while the
other concerns itself with organisational development.
High staff turnover, a lack of resources and insufficient funding
proved to be the most significant challenges ever experienced.
Despite these challenges, the province nevertheless
endeavours to expand its reach and ensure services of quality.
Community Victim Support
Victim support services were rendered to 20,929 survivors
of crime from 17 community victim support centres and six
domestic violence courts; very nearly double the number of
beneficiaries planned for. This remarkable achievement would
not have been possible without the assistance of committed
volunteers from the local communities. We also succeeded
in introducing the Programme for Perpetrators of Domestic
Violence with a record number of 263 perpetrators attending
the programme.
Diversion
NICRO Gauteng reached 5,619 young offenders in this
financial year. In addition to the four conventional NICRO
Diversion programmes, new programmes were conceptualised
and developed in response to a needs analysis indicating
that not all the developmental needs of certain clients were
being effectively addressed through the existing options.
These new programmes include the Sexual Offenders
Programme, the Drug Abuse Prevention Programme, the
Anger Management Programme, the Parenting Skills and Life
Skills Programme for children under the age of twelve, as
well as a Mentorship Programme.
Economic Opportunities Project (EOP)
During the past financial year, EOP was implemented cursorily
due to lack of resources. The management committee, in
consultation with the National Office, subsequently took the
decision to terminate the project. These decisions were based
on the funding situation, as the province was not able to
secure any financial assistance from donors or the Department
of Social Development.
Offender Reintegration
The Tough Enough Programme has not performed as well as
expected in the province. Furthermore, the Department of
Social Development elected not to fund the programme,
given their conviction that it is the responsibility of the
Department of Correctional Services to do so. The Department
of Social Development, however, requested us to explore
the possibility of developing an alternative sentencing
programme for young adults, as this has been identified as
an urgent need in the province. These programmes will be
developed in the new financial year.
I AM WHAT I AM
I AM A CHILD
A CHILD LOST IN THE DARK
SCARED OF WHAT I SEE
BUT I WANT TO SEE
WHO DO I TURN TO
I NEED A FRIEND
I NEED YOU TO HELP ME
BE MY FRIEND
TEACH ME TO DISTINGUISH RIGHT FROM WRONG
I’LL DO MY BEST
I WILL LEARN
GIVE ME A CHANCE TO GROW
IN ASPIRATION TO BECOME YOU
Written by Chad Solomons
NICRO Gauteng was also approached by a consortium of
six service providers to render services to 20 young offenders
at the Boksburg prison as a pilot programme aimed at offering
holistic services to young incarcerated offenders. The
programme will encompass a comprehensive range of services
varying from family reintegration, small business skills
development, drug education, alternatives to violence and
therapeutic interventions.
Urban Regeneration Project
While NICRO’s programmes focus on early intervention as
a rule, this innovative project focuses on prevention and was
developed to address the core issues that contribute to crime:
the lack of skills, jobs and recreation opportunities for young
people. To date, the Urban Regeneration Project has already
reached 700 young people. The funding contract with the
National Department of Social Development comes to an
end in March 2005.
Challenges
One of the greatest challenges faced by the province in the
last year has been its very high staff turnover. As at March
2004 almost half of the current staff complement of 90 had
been with the organisation for less than a year. Given the
expansion process and vacancies resulting from large numbers
of resignations, the province was constantly engaged with
recruiting new staff and staff training, both of which adversely
affected service delivery.
Another challenge with which we had to contend was the
lack of adequate resources in the face of an increase in staff.
This meant that large numbers of staff at a service point had
to share limited resources, such as a vehicle or computers,
which also impacted on service delivery. A positive spin-off
nevertheless resulted: staff adopted an open-minded,
resourceful and creative approach to delivering services
amidst these challenges.
New Initiatives
NICRO Gauteng was approached by the Provincial
Department of Social Services and Population Development
to participate in the establishment of the Ikhaya Lethemba
One Stop Centre for victims of domestic violence and sexual
assault. NICRO Gauteng will be responsible for the intake
component and will place four social workers and 20
volunteers to render the intake services. The other role players
in the centre include government departments such as the
Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit,
the Department of Health that will render medico-legal
services, the National Prosecuting Authority and a number
of other non-governmental organisations. The concept model
was launched on December 9, 2003 and the official opening
was held in March 2004.
A Service Point Award was introduced during the last year
to encourage service excellence, with the first award being
presented to the Soweto Service Point at the provincial yearend
function held at a nature reserve in Krugersdorp. The
service point was given a cheque of R 1,000 with which to
purchase resources.
Promotions
There were numerous promotions within the province this
year. Two service deliverers were promoted to supervisory
positions at the newly opened offices where they spearhead
the new services. A former probation officer was appointed
as a manager for the Germiston Service Point when the
probation services folded.
Conclusion
The overall performance of the province was very encouraging
despite the many challenges. Services are accessible to clients
and the provincial office is committed to the training and
development of staff so that it can continue to deliver quality
services to all. NICRO Gauteng will continue with its
groundbreaking work by exploring relevant and appropriate
innovations, especially in terms of social and economic
issues.
Copies of this Annual
Report are available from the NICRO National Office nicro@wn.apc.org
