Sarah Baartman Centre for Women and Children, Manenberg

1. A 24-hour emergency shelter (safe accommodation)

2. Short and medium term residential care

3. Childcare services

4. Counselling, mental health support, legal and economic empowerment services

5. Children's counselling

6. Research in gender-based violence

7. Job Skills training

8. Legal advice

The Residential Programme provides a 24-hour crisis response for women and their children who are being abused in their homes. There are trained staff members on duty at all times and the facility is open all year including public holidays. The Residential Programme houses on average 22 women and 35 children who stay in the Residential Programme for four months. The benefits of the Residential Programme are that Residents have easy and safe access to a range of Services provided by the Centre and their partners. These include a free Legal Advice Service, free Medical Services and Economic Empowerment Programmes. During their stay in the Residential Programme, the women participate in individual and group Counselling, Psycho-Educational Workshops, Support Groups and Job Skills Training. Counselling is also available for Children. Pre-school children spend their weekdays in the crèche, while school-going children are referred to neighbouring schools.

In 2004, the Centre opened the first four second-stage housing units for Residents who need to stay longer, in a more secure environment and who are able to pay a small monthly rent. The Women and their Children are able to live in these houses for a further six to nine months.

Thanks to generous funding from Chris Pinkham and the Rolf-Stephan Nussbaum Foundation, another six houses were built in 2006. They were officially opened on 15 December 2006 by Rosieda Shabodien, well known gender and development activist.