While the country marked Heritage Day on Tuesday, September 24, there are many whose lives have been lived without pride in what they have inherited.
They live in the shadows on the edges of society. Among them are those who have been coerced into the sex trade underworld and whose identities have been defined by desperation and depression.
The Domino Foundation’s Red Light anti-human-trafficking programme, based in Durban North, aims to restore a sense of self-worth to its beneficiaries and establish for each one a new heritage they can celebrate.
Red Light’s Restore in-patient programme provides survivors a safe home called Othandweni (meaning place of love) where the beneficiaries are drawn into a mutually caring family.
Many have been ostracised by their relatives or are far from home and have no contact with the people and places of their pasts – critical factors in defining identity.
Gill Hammond who manages the home described it as a safe place for survivors on their journey to wholeness, and a significant part of that is knowing their self-worth.
“Othandweni’s staff have received specialised training in recovery processes, the running of vulnerable women shelters and various gender-based violence issues, they also work with independent social workers and therapy teams,” she said.
“The survivors come to us carrying burdens which often have crushed any sense of their own value. Group and individual counselling sessions enable them to confront their pasts and develop a vision for the future. Art classes have awakened their creativity. The generosity of well-wishers has radically improved the ladies physical appearance.”
One of the survivors who has travelled the road to wholeness and identity at Othandweni, Precious (not her real name) said she used to be ashamed of her past and who she had become.
“Now, I know who I am. The Red Light Restore programme has given me a new identity I am proud of and I know I have something special to contribute to the culture and heritage of my country,” she said.
Precious and her fellow residents at Othandweni make beaded jewellery in the Create Freedom programme, which teaches the women skills and stewardship.
Anyone interested in the Red Light programme and how they might be part of the survivors’ journey into a brighter future or wish to purchase Create Freedom jewellery can contact [email protected]
