Due to the critical prevalence of child abuse in South Africa and the limited resources to safeguard these children, Plesion (a registered fundraising organisation) organizes an annual charity golf day for Rata Social Services.
Plesion was established with the main focus to help struggling NGO’s with fundraising projects as a way to contribute to helping social services on ground level and to make a difference in different vulnerable communities.
To protect abused children, the professional social workers of Rata Social Services remove them from the violent environment, put them in places of safe care and then work to find suitable foster parents or other alternative placements for them. They represent these children’s rights in the children’s courts, arrange for therapy and draw up an Individual Development Plan for each child. But it doesn’t stop there – Rata helps to prevent further violence through community development programs and parental guidance programs.
As an NGO Rata has to rely on Government funding (subsidies) to render services, which are inadequate for financial survival.
Due to great financial constraints, social work vacancies are a reality which impacts services on ground level.
As a welfare organisation, services are being rendered to the poorest of the poor and are services also aimed to alleviate poverty, with limited resources.
It costs approximately R10,000 per annum per child – from removal, children’s court case, trauma debriefing, therapy, placement and continuous services. This includes all expenditures regarding the cases.
Without the NGO’s which are registered as Child Protection Organisations, there will be no one left to stand between an abused child and their abuser…
