Mission/Vision: Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie (SAVF) is a carrier of hope for people with social needs. As a registered welfare organisation SAVF renders social services to individuals and families within the community in order to empower them to improve quality of life.
SAVF renders welfare and welfare related services primarily in five provinces namely; Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West. The services include, child and youth care, social development, family care and care for the aged and people with disabilities. In regards with child and youth care, SAVF renders statutory work, foster care, care in children homes and early child development. The organisation also creates and implements developmental programmes, job creation and life enhancement programmes.
SAVF supports individuals and families in combating poverty and also renders support services to the aged and disabled persons. SAVF’s FAMNET programme provides family information and support networks for effective parenting and strong healthy families. SAVF has rendered services for the past year from 186 facilities to approximately 250 000 individuals. More than 1.2 million people were reached when taking the impact of services on families into account.
SAVF was founded in 1904 in Pretoria initiated by Georgiana Solomon in company of Annie Botha – General Louis Botha’s spouse. The organisation emerged out of concern for the suffering and needs of people that followed the Second Anglo Boer War. Job creation and women groups were launched in the following months by means of sewing projects. In 1905, the Armstrong Berning Home for unmarried pregnant woman and traumatised girls was opened in Pretoria. This Home is still functioning today. The following decades saw the establishment of various old age homes, health services, youth hostels and nursery schools. In 1938, the first SAVF social worker was appointed. In 1978 SAVF took the first pioneering step by creating the first developmental social work post in Lichtenburg.
For 108 years SAVF has been changing people’s lives for the better.
SAVF prides itself in rendering an integrated, holistic, social welfare service. The organisation has changed lives in the past 12 months in the following ways:
Children and Youth: SAVF programmes involved more than 92 000 children in early childhood development (ECD) centres, child protection programmes, foster care supervision cases, school feeding schemes and awareness campaigns regarding the prevention of substance abuse, teenage pregnancy and bullying.
SAVF’s five child and youth care centres serve as an environment where children in need of care are protected and counseled to regain self-respect and to believe in human kind.
SAVF furthermore undertook research called ‘The Voices of Our Children’ with focus on the experiences of adolescents in related foster care. The results are used to direct social workers on the needs of adolescents within related foster care, which is often with grandparents.
One of SAVF’s biggest challenges in the organisation is supporting the transition of the school leaving children in the children’s homes to adult life. These children have to leave the home at 18 years. Many other children in caseloads, experience the same challenges, as parents or care-givers might not have the capacity to assist the young adults in this transition. For this purpose, SAVF established the SAVF Development and Empowerment Fund. The fund aims to financially support individuals, residing in the work area of SAVF and that do not have funds at their disposal, with a developmental action or a career. The funds are utilised for, boarding, registration for studies, study material such as books, equipment such as computers or tools and basic necessities such as clothing and transport, among other things.
Families: By definition, SAVF is a family organisation. Socio-economic empowerment projects have been part of SAVF throughout its history. The development of shelters in the past 15 years is proof of the lack of the basic livelihood of community members. It also provides a protected environment for the sufferers of family violence.
Parents: Both SAVF FAMNET and the SAVF Botswadi programme focus on the development of parenting skills and provide a network of support to parents from different family structures. The past year more than 115 000 family members were involved in SAVF programmes.
SAVF advocates that families are the core of society, in light of this; the organisation launched a media campaign in the beginning of this year by name of ‘Front Page Father’. The aim of the campaign is to make society aware of the value of a father in the life of his child and to empower men to become involved in the lives of their children and families.
Older Persons: Services to approximately 38 000 older persons are rendered in communities by means of home-based care, luncheon clubs, kinship foster care supervision to grandparents and material support. SAVF also cares for 3 318 frail aged persons.
In the past, Old Age services focused mainly on residential care. Society dynamic, however, shifted the focus in contemporary times to caring for the aged within a community, in their private residence or within a housing scheme. The expectation is that family, friends, service centers, social workers and Homes renders supporting services to the aged in their immediate vicinity. SAVF social workers satisfy this need through spiritual and cultural activities, inter-generational programs, information and educational programmes, economic empowerment of older persons, health care, exercise, recreation and transport.
Residential care, however, is still a very real need. SAVF render frail care services in old age homes throughout the five provinces. Destitute senior citizens are often removed from their environments and placed in SAVF Homes where their dignity and self-respect is restored, while tending to their physical needs.
Affiliate Organisations: SAVF makes provision for emerging organisations to affiliate with SAVF. Support and guidance for these newly developing organisations into self-management and sustainability is provided.
Special Projects: At present, SAVF is very excited as they have two wonderful projects in the pipeline. Firstly, the Food Voucher Project that will replace the usual distribution of food parcels. The second project consists of distributing from one of SAVF’s empowerment facilities homemade baking goods to a well-known chain store.
Another project that is fully implemented which SAVF is proud of is the SAVF Training Centre. The centre trains 180 nursing and health care students per annum. The students do their practical training in SAVF’s old age homes.
Volunteers and Employees: These services, programmes and projects will not be a reality, was it not for SAVF’s dedicated employees and volunteers. SAVF has 2 095 volunteers that form an integral part in the day-to-day activities while 2 620 employees form the basis of SAVF services.
The foundation of a social welfare organisation, such as SAVF, is the hope that the organisation will care for those that have social needs. Tasleem Hassim, SAVF social worker at SAVF Potchefstroom captured this hope:
“Life is indeed a series of moments that develop into memories. These memories are stitched within ourselves and reappear before us when we need it most – memories that last a life time.
Entering the world at 04h50 was a newborn with cries of love and the appearance of hope. Holding this miracle in my arms it brought a wide spectrum of emptions. A moment of love and everything in between. A moment where a mom produces a miracle. A moment which childless couples only dream of. This morning was filled with sadness and sorrow, happiness and joy, loss and motherhood.
It was a moment where I experienced emotions on opposite ends of a pendulum. I had to show my support to a mum who gave up her baby for adoption and I had to shadow my sadness to reveal happiness for the couple who accepted this baby as their own.
These were the moments of such sublime happiness and sorrow that I am of the opinion that true love is only seen through the eyes of a mother who gives up her child to live a life she can only dream of and to give a couple a miracle.
I know that where ever life takes me, these moments will always follow. They remind me what’s truly important. It’s not just life, but living. It’s the journey, the destination and all the points in between”.
To view the Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie in the Prodder NGO Directory, click here.
