Bombani Safe House
Alexandra's place of safety for abused women and their
children will soon re-open its doors.
It was a sad day in Alexandra when the Bombani Safe House for Abused Women
had to close its doors. Housed in an old fire station, the shelter was
inadequate to the task, unsafe, and lacking the necessary security
measures to protect the people it sheltered.
Now a new shelter, built specifically for this purpose by the
Alexandra Renewal Project, is nearing completion. Situated on the Far
East Bank of Alexandra, the new Bombani Safe House will provide refuge
for victims of abuse and domestic violence.
Sizakele Nkosi, founder of the original shelter in 2000, named it
Bombani, which means "Be Proud" in Shangaan. The NGO and volunteers
who will run the new Bombani will justifiably be proud of the new
building in which families in crisis will find a temporary safe haven.
The new double-storey building has 14 family rooms, as well as
shared community facilities for cooking and dining, ablutions and
laundry. The site is securely fenced to protect residents who may
still be under threat.
The Bombani Safe House will once again provide temporary
therapeutic, residential care programmes for abused women and children
from in and around Alexandra.
Besides helping women, the shelter will also counsel men who are abused by
their partners, as well as those who perpetrate violence.
From the safety of the new Bombani, victims of violence be assisted
with a view to safely integrating them back into the community.
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