Lesedi la Batho Social Relief Fund, South Africa

Our team has been hard at work, working with the community to create change in the community, one life at a time.

Recently, a family reached out to us expressing a need for support for their relative with mental health challenges. The person was assessed by our social workers, given a referral letter, and accompanied to the local clinic for further clinical assessments. The clinic then referred the patient to a hospital, where they received medical attention, and their progress will be monitored closely.

We provide families with support in various ways, with the priority being to keep the family together. We had the opportunity to assist two young children gain access to education. One of our Gender-Based Violence support group members referred us to the home of a young mother, whose children were not able to attend school. Her twin children who were supposed to be in grade 1 had not been attending school since the beginning of the school year. Our social workers conducted a home visit, during which, they learned that four of her children had not yet been documented and therefore do not have birth certificates. The Twins were assisted with placement in a school, secured transport, school uniform, stationery and a food parcel. Our social workers are currently assisting the mother with applying for birth certificates for the four children as this becomes a lengthy process because it was not done in time.

The death of a child is a life event that many of us are never prepared for. A young Grade 12 learner from a neighbouring school passed away a few weeks ago. Expectedly, the family did not have the resources in place to have a burial for their child. The news reached our social auxiliary worker who reached out to the Department of Education-District office, the school he attended and the ward councillor. Our team met with the family to find out more about their needs and Lesedi la Batho was able to assist with groceries, while the ward councillor and Department of Education provided other needs for the burial.

We would like to thank all our donors because none of the wonderful work we have done to make an impactful change in our community would have been possible if it was