Comfort packs ready for beneficiaries

Three provinces are set to benefit from the 300 comfort packs that were packed by Matla A Bana to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children initiative at Clearwater Mall on Tuesday, 3 December.

Volunteers from across the province including police officers and models made their way to the mall to support the cause by putting together the packs that will be distributed to the benefiting provinces.

According to the organisation’s project manager, Lizel van Eeden, the three benefiting provinces are Limpopo, North West and Gauteng. Last year the packs were donated to beneficiaries in the Free State.

“Matla A Bana is a national charity. We mainly focus on child abuse and sexual violence cases, which are happening on a daily basis,” she explained.

These packs are put together for two age groups – girls between five and eight years old, and girls aged between nine and 12, which is the most vulnerable age group, according to Lizel.

With the theme for this year’s 16 Days of Activism being Enough is Enough, Lizel was grateful to President Cyril Ramaphosa for taking a stand against the scourge and focusing on children with disabilities. “With President Ramaphosa focusing mainly on gender-based violence, and pushing for the reopening of old cases and raising awareness, it goes to show that the country is really tired and wants to take a stand against this problem,” she explained, also praising the media for giving publicity to awareness campaigns against gender-based violence and the successful prosecution of sex predators.

The reigning Miss Mamelodi Sundowns Tshwane 2019/ 20, Bianca Rautenberch; the Miss Vergeet-My-Nie finalist 2020, Zunel van Eeden; plus The King’s School Linbro Park learner Nicola Bester all came to do their bit to make a difference.

Lizel thanked the likes of ABSA, DRD Gold, Romans Pizza and Clearwater Mall for making the initiative a success again this year.