The Jes Foord Foundation

The Jes Foord Foundation

Pure Trade Africa’s Donation Programme

As our company grows, so does our responsibility to give back to the people, communities, and organizations which have taken it upon themselves to bring about positive change in society.

As part of our commitment to honest and responsible business, each staff member was given the opportunity to nominate a charity to whom Pure Trade Africa would make a donation, on their behalf.

For the month of January 2021, our focus fell to the Jes Foord Foundation which was nominated by our Logistics Co-Ordinator, Natasha Leigh – Smal.

Why the Jes Foord Foundation?

When asked about why she nominated the Jes Foord Foundation, Natasha wrote:

“I have always been aware that our country is in a crisis of violence against women, but I was absolutely horrified by the murder of University of Cape Town student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, and since then I have become an active member of the feminist movement.

As a young woman, it terrifies me to think that I could literally be a victim of gender-based violence at any time. I simply can’t walk anywhere without thinking that something awful might happen. I am constantly scared, not only for myself, but I feel scared for every other woman sharing the same fears. It crushes me to think that my worst fear is someone else’s reality.

That is why I think The Jes Foord Foundation does incredible work by offering trauma counseling to survivors of rape, molestation, and sexual assault, and so much more.”

What is The Jes Foord Foundation?*

In South Africa, around 172 rapes are reported every single day, and these statistics are only the tip of the iceberg. Approximately 90% of rape cases are not reported. Therefore, each day over 1700 women, children and men are experiencing the fear, pain and shame of being raped.             

The Jes Foord Foundation supports survivors of rape, molestation, and sexual assault by providing compassionate support and trauma counseling to help them along their healing journey. Our work, however, goes beyond supporting victims. We strive to address the problem itself – the prevalence of rape in our society. We therefore also inform, create awareness and change attitudes through our advocacy and education programs.

The Jes Foord Foundation Projects*

The Handbag Project

The JFF Handbag Project is one of our biggest ongoing initiatives whereby we collect and pack new and used handbags containing toiletries and care items that can assist a rape victim after the initial reporting process. Every handbag is the beginning of a survivor’s new life after their ordeal and gives them hope, which is a fundamental step in recovery.

 

 

Awareness Talks

 Awareness Talks is an initiative of the Jes Foord Foundation that speaks out on behalf of all those who have been victims of rape and seeks to remove the stigma attached to rape by making it an open conversation. These talks are greatly inclusive, are age-appropriate, and are given in English and Zulu in Durban and all over South Africa. Although rape is a very sensitive topic and can be triggering to survivors, making it part of the normal conversation (but by no means normalizing it), allows for progress to be made. In addition, our Awareness Talks are meant to serve as a preventative tool in reducing secondary trauma and preventing these incidents from happening in the first place by educating learners from a young age.

Topics covered in each Awareness Talk

  • Who am I? Knowing your rights
  • What is rape – understanding sexual assault
  • What is consent – good touch vs bad touch
  • Using your voice as a tool of verbal defense
  • No means No and boundaries
  • What to do if you are raped – procedures and medication
  • Symptoms of trauma / rape and the importance of counselling
  • Thuthuzela Centres and the facilities available to survivors

 

 

Young Men’s Mentorship Programme

Our Young Men’s Mentorship Program (Qhakaza Ntwana) was developed by Jes, the JFF counseling team as well as a few respected leaders in the KZN community. The Mentorship Program selects 30-40 young men between Grades 9 and 11 who display leadership qualities – but are misusing them due to various social pressures that adolescents face. These young men spend a full year with their respective mentors, which include weekly meetings, educational outings, and a 3-day camp facilitated by these leaders, half-way through the program. Throughout the program, the mentors explore carefully selected topics through various exercises that are physically and mentally challenging for the young men in order to instill values of responsibility, teamwork, perseverance, and reaching goals that were never thought possible.

Qhakaza Ntwana is a Zulu term of endearment which translates to “Shine Boy” and is the highest compliment one can be paid for acts of kindness and service. Through our Mentorship Program, we hope to achieve the following outcomes:

  • To make use of psycho-educational skills to instill healthy, positive leadership qualities that the foundation believes a male, living in South Africa should have.
  • Stopping the cycle of violence and abuse.
  • Influencing behavior positively by exposing these young men to positive role models.
  • Creating a change in mindsets of young men in South Africa and the way they perceive women and abuse.
  • Creating community leaders.
  • Exposing the young men to various businesses and career opportunities.
  • Preventing, as far as possible, these young men from becoming abusers themselves.

Trauma Counselling

Launched in 2013, JFF Trauma Counselling is made available to survivors of rape, molestation, and sexual assault, as well as to family members and loved ones affected by the trauma. Our trained counselors’ main objective is the commitment to the full restoration and healing of the survivor. Our trauma counseling is available to survivors of any age, regardless of the assault that occurred recently or a long time ago where the survivor may not have had the opportunity to seek help. Trauma Counselling is offered at our offices in Kloof from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 4 pm and at the Bux Farm Community Centre every Tuesday.

 

 

 Zamokuhle Project

 The JFF Zamokuhle Project (Sikhulisa Ulusha) is a psycho-educational support workshop designed to empower community caregivers and facilitators to run their own support groups through empowerment, support, and education platforms. The workshop runs over a full week, targeting community-based facilitators and caregivers (in outer-lying communities) that interact with the youth in some way. The workshop is tailored for both males and females and is conducted in English and Zulu. Our newest program consists of 5, 3-hour sessions, and the final leg involves a survey analysis completed by each facilitator/caregiver, in order to generate impact evidence to prove the effectiveness of our campaign.

Our Zamokuhle workshops are designed to offer preventative support measures to the social ills that our youth and communities face on a daily basis.

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The Jes Foord Foundation is a registered Non – Profit Organisation and thus, any contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible. To support the Foundation, or to find out more about the work they do, visit the Jes Foord Foundation website or contact them via admin@jff.org.za.

*Content provided by the Jes Foord Foundation.

 

 

 

 

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