Restoring broken lives

As the country marks the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign, an NPO and church in Kraaifontein has restarted its work to restore the lives of those affected by abuse.

The Lofdal Restoration Centre, situated near Bloekombos, hosts a three-month rehabilitation course for women and men who have fled abuse and are battling addiction.

The 16 days of activism campaign started on Sunday November 25 and will run until Monday December 10, which is international Human Rights Day.

Lofdal also has a home for abandoned babies who live with volunteers on the premises.

Pastor Ulrich Strauss said the centre first opened in 2012 but closed after two years due to a shortage of staff and resources. It reopened this year.

Now social workers and occupational therapists from other NGOs volunteer at Lofdal.

The centre can accommodate up to 12 women and 20 men at a time.

He said they can usually take more men than women because the men are often only treated for addiction but the women need help with a range of things like recovering from abuse.

At the moment there are only 11 women on the three-month rehabilitation course.

The women live on the Lofdal premises and are monitored by a team of counsellors. They will be sent home in January but social workers will keep an eye on their progress and a new group of those seeking help will join the next course.