Durban - Twenty Durban non-profits have been invited to a joint expo to share skills and knowledge and raise awareness of their work.
The Change in Action expo showcases a broad range of organisations helping those in need in and around the city.
Few people are aware that there are more than 3 500 registered non-profit organisations (NPO) in eThekwini, said Linda Morrison, managing director of We Are Durban, one of the expo partners.
“A lack of awareness prevents people from accessing the services and volunteers from connecting with causes they care about.”
To help overcome that, We are Durban partnered with the Hollywood Foundation and Gateway Mall to provide the platform and marketing material to 20 Durban NPOs.
Among those who will be represented are the Bright Eyes Trust, Phoenix Child and Family Welfare Society and The Wellness Centre Trust.
Co-founder and centre co-ordinator of the Bright Eyes Trust, Carron Strachan, and teacher and project co-ordinator Cathryn Aylett, said they were excited about the initiative.
The Trust’s work has centred around “providing ongoing support and interaction to ensure the integration of the visually impaired child into the community and culture” and is constantly evolving, said Strachan.
Their work provides high-quality and accessible early childhood education with fully trained teachers and support and training for parents.
“The challenge has been to source funding to cover the cost of maintaining full-time teaching specialists. Another has been spreading the knowledge that early intervention for the visually impaired child is critical from birth,” she said.
They provide free eye screenings to low-income schools and under-resourced communities and ensure treatment and services are available when required.
“We provide the majority of services at the lowest possible fee, if not free of charge, always considering the financial position of the beneficiary. We do not turn anyone away,” she said, adding that they were excited to learn new skills and connecting with other organisations and the wider community.
“We have always believed that organisations are stronger through collaboration and able to make an even greater impact when skills and resources are shared.”
Also grateful for the opportunity to be part of the expo is the Phoenix Child and Family Welfare Society said centre manager Nadia Munsamy.
She said their greatest challenge was the lack of sufficient funding for NGOs and the escalation of expenses.
“The lack of subsidy increases from the government and the dwindling donor contributions impacts negatively on our organisation’s ability to sustain itself and grow its services to the community. The escalating rate of crime, poverty and breakdown of human values places a huge demand on services. We find a degeneration of our communities, with the whole meaning of ‘Ubuntu’ being lost. The diversity and complexity of such ills create a further deprivation of our society, with children being the victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation,” Munsamy said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic had a massive negative impact on lives and livelihoods, and this opportunity will allow us to showcase our society and our services, to network with other stakeholders, share ideas and resources,” she said.
Eloise Briggeman, founder and CEO of another participant, The Wellness Centre Trust, said: “About 10 years ago, I really felt a desperate need to make a difference in our country starting with Durban. There are homeless people begging at every street corner, and I felt I would love to give each person a second chance in life.
“More hands make light work, and not enough hands seem to be available to help mentor and coach our candidates. It is not as simple as giving a person a job when it comes to the calibre of people we work with,” she said.
“We assist homeless and destitute people, so our ‘community’ is not in one area. We assist people past Mariannhill, up towards Empangeni and sometimes down the South Coast. We mainly focus on skills development and business development, but during Covid, we had to reshape our work to delivering food parcels and keep our candidates from starving. After the floods, we readjusted to assisting families with rebuilding their homes after most were severely damaged or washed away,” she said.
“I think this is a wonderful initiative which I am very grateful for. Awareness and marketing are key to what we are doing to bring in more support. For NPOs, it is the lowest focus point because there seem to be so many other ‘priorities’, so this is a fantastic initiative,” she said.
Visit the Change in Action NPO Fair at Gateway from 9am-6pm from Friday, March 24 until Sunday, March 26.
The Independent on Saturday