EKUPHOLENI MENTAL HEALTH AND TRAUMA CENTER Mission Ekupholeni strives to reach individuals, families, groups and communities in distress and to engage them in a holistic process of healing, recovery and empowerment. 1 Overview Ekupholeni is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides psychosocial counseling to victims of trauma. We operate in a region called Katorus, a settlement 25 kilometers outside of Johannesburg, made up of 2.5 million people. The region consists of former Black locations and sprawling informal settlements, including Katlehong, Vosloorus, Tokoza, Zonkezizwe, Palm Ridge, Phola Park, and Tsietsie, amongst others. We operate out of “zozos” and containers at four different locations (Katlehong, Thokoza, Phola Park and Vosloorus) in the area and provide satellite services at two public clinics and one state hospital. History Ekupholeni was founded in 1994 to address the needs of a community traumatized by political violence of the 1980s/90s, as well as poverty, unemployment, criminal and gender violence, substance abuse, family breakdown, school absenteeism and gang activity. We have evolved continuously to provide relevant support for the region’s changing needs. One of the biggest problems in Katorus is the overwhelming prevalence of HIV/AIDS. And of increasing concern is the number of children/youth that have been orphaned by the pandemic and/or are also infected by it. So far, Ekupholeni is the only organization providing such services in this community. Programs and Beneficiaries Each year, we provide support for about 7000 children, youth, and adults. We focus on: HIV/AIDS and Bereavement: This program focuses on children, youth and adults who are infected and/or affected by the epidemic. The organization provides individual and group counseling for infected children, youth and adults; individual and group bereavement counseling for affected children, youth and adults; psychosocial and material support for child-headed households; psychosocial support for health workers in the HIV field; intensive programs for bereaved primary school children; community healing services; etc. The program also aims to prevent the spread of HIV by raising awareness about the virus and educating the community about how the virus works, how it is spread, how to avoid exposure, how to avoid infecting newborns, how to take ARVs, when to use post- exposure prophylaxis (PEP), etc. Gender-Based Violence: This program is based at the Sinakakelwe Thuthuzela Crisis Center, which, out of fifty two such centers in the country, is the third busiest. Every month we see about sixty new rape victims and about 60% are children. The program focuses on children, youth and adults who have been victims not only of rape but of domestic violence and sexual assault. The organization provides individual as well as 2 long term in-depth group counseling. We also do intensive counseling with children who are sexually abusing other children, often as a result of having been abused themselves. We encourage legal action against abusers and as part of this commitment, run court preparation workshops with caregivers of sexually abused children and youth and do individual court preparation with the children and youth. The program also aims to prevent gender violence by raising awareness about domestic violence (Domestic Violence Campaign), inappropriate sexual behavior (Don’t You Touch Campaign), and child protection (Children’s Rights Campaign). Youth at Risk: This program focuses on children and youth with severe behavior problems on and over the edge of crime, and at risk of dropping out of school, contracting HIV/AIDS, falling pregnant, etc. We work closely with parents and caregivers of these children, running workshops to give them parenting skills and planning outings to encourage bonding. We transition many of our children from individual and group counseling into life skills intervention groups aimed to keep children and youth on a healthy life path. Across all of these programs, we run economic empowerment and skills development projects, to encourage positive self-image and long term self-sustainability. Our Phambili Program is for our clients who have no income and little or no chance to enter the open labor market due to trauma, low literacy, lack of qualification, and lack of start-up capital. They are provided with skills in commercial arts / craft, basic business management and upon successful completion of their training, they receive seed funding to start small businesses. We then mentor them to ensure that their small businesses thrive. Our Kick Start Program assists youths by offering career counseling and advice, assisting with job placement, and facilitating placement at training centers and universities. Involving youth in positive economic empowerment is vital for a community like Katorus where youth can easily be lured to crime due to chronic poverty and limited legitimate socio-economic mobility opportunities. Annual report and financial reports are available upon request. For more information on Ekupholeni, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! 3 Details Name of Organization Ekupholeni Mental Health and Trauma Center Contact Person Name: Sarah Flemmer Designation: Fundraising and Communications Manager Cell Phone: +27 71 686 6998 Physical Address Main Clinic: Administration Office: Green Zozos 8 Archimdes Bldg 497 Msomi Street 18A Gill Street Katlehong 1431 Observatory 2198 South Africa South Africa Postal Address PO Box 751686 Garden View 2047 South Africa Telephone Numbers Main Clinic: +27 79 526 7833 Administration Office: +27 11 648 9820 Fax Numbers Administration Office: +27 11 487 0480 Email Address [email protected] Organization’s Registration Registered with Department Social Development as a Non Profit Organization: NPO 035-007 Registered with South African Revenue Service as a Public Benefit Organization: PBO 930015219 Bank Account Bank: Standard Bank Branch: Bedford Gardens / 018305 Type of Account: Cheque Account Number: 02 258 178 2 SWIFT Code: SBZAZAJJ Auditor’s Details Name: N.A. Leibovitz and Company Contact: Robert Wolberg Cell: +27 83 3836771 Postal Address: PO Box 51487, Raedene 2124, South Africa Tel: +27 11 440 5343 Fax: +27 114 40 5343 4 .