Delays in funding compromises services
THE delays in paying much needed funds into the coffers of organisations rendering services to the poor and vulnerable by the Social Development Department put massive strain on them.
Several non-governmental and non-profit organisations said they were pushed to the brink of closure even when one month’s payout did not come, as they depended heavily both on the government and donations to assist them provide care, accommodation, food, and other services to those in need.
Speaking as the year draws to an end, one organisation for young pregnant women in Pretoria said they were considering shutting their doors in December as the burden to care and assist grew heavier.
“When we started the organisation it was in response to a growing number of abandoned babies and children and mothers with nowhere to go,” Women’s Haven co-founder Stella de Kock said.
Situated on the outskirts of the Pretoria city centre, she said they picked up that there were so many women – young and old, who, mainly through no fault of their own, found themselves unable to care for the babies they carried and eventually gave birth to.
She said: “There are so many socio-economic problems that lie deep in our communities, and they inadvertently affect women more than they do men.”
Some, she said, even as they continued to live within a home, struggled to provide for themselves and their unborn babies, while there was an even larger group who ended up on the street as they were kicked out of home, ostracised by families, as they fell pregnant for one reason or the other.
“This does not even get into the many who lose jobs, especially in the informal workspace, when their condition seemingly affects the services they offer.” And this was a gap, she said, that the government had not tapped into.
De Kock said the apparent reliance on the government social grant did nothing for so many who really needed it, when they needed it. “A pregnant woman needs so much! From what she must wear to what she must eat in order to nurture a growing baby, to being comfortable and to ensuring that they put aside enough to care for babies....not even working women can prepare adequately,” she said.
The NGO she runs alongside several others is a stop-gap for that, as food and clothes, regular check-ups and advice, and counselling was provided for free.
“Counselling a person who feels like the world is against her requires a lot, and as an organisation that preaches anti-abortion, we have tried by all means to provide what we can so that as many babies are born into a healthier environment than they otherwise could have.”
They were registered 10 years ago, and had donors to assist, especially when they started.
But, she said, money had dried up for many, and depending on government became a desperate course of action. Said the once government social worker: “Without divulging amounts, I can say individual funding, on paper, is quite modest. We offer no frills services, but we do ensure that every woman who comes through our doors has enough to eat, has something to wear, and has a safe space to come to when they need it.”
At one point they had donors to call upon and knew they would get a delivery of vegetables, social services, and a helping hand, for free. But as many suffered an economic slump, this dried up. “With so many organisations needing the scarce resources, those who helped also became overburdened.”
Dipping into personal and family resources was a known process, she said. “But even that is no longer as available. Closure almost seems imminent as we have dug into our own pockets and dried them out, because, as we sit here now, the funding from the government comes in dribs and drabs, they are behind due to court processes we know little about, yet the girls continue to come through.”
Not far from the day facility is a frail care centre run by former accountant Kgaogelo Nkwe. When she established the home, it was after she realised, with her own mother, how much the frail needed.
“It goes beyond a bed to sleep in, they need medication to ease their pain, they need staff that knows what to do in any and every situation. But they also need to live in a place with a functional kitchen, ablution facilities, water, and electricity, not to mention bandages, disposable nappies, bedding change on high rotation … and they need counselling, even if it is not by doctors.
“Some come in after suffering accidents, others are abandoned by their families, while others are younger than your average frail person. It is hard to accept, that one needs round-the-clock assistance from a stranger, so funding is essential if this 15 bed facility is to remain open,” Nkwe said.
She said they lived in constant fear of inspectors declaring them unfit, or turning into another Life Esidimeni.
They had received no money from the government in seven months, Nkwe said, and last week they were told to reapply to the department, in what she said was a tedious process they imagined they had covered at inception.
The department did not respond to questions on plans to ensure all organisations catering for the vulnerable of society were properly equipped, only saying they knew and understood their responsibility and, as per the constitution, did all to fulfil that.
ntando.makhubu@inl.co.za