Ons Plek: Girls' Education and Empowerment

Ons Plek - "our place"

 http://www.onsplek.org.za/

With some of the girls at the Annual General Meeting

     In my Rotary application essay I wrote about my passion for girls’ education and empowerment programs. Without going into a long autobiography, the four years I spent at Foxcroft School (an all girls’ international boarding school) molded me into the person I am today by equipping me with the confidence and ability to take risk, challenge myself academically, and to both lead and serve others. Given my background, I am so happy to have found a means through which I can contribute to the empowerment and education of girls in South Africa. The following is an introduction to my involvement with Ons Plek Projects, the only comprehensive program in Cape Town specifically for female street children.

In March, I blogged about meeting Jane Raphaely (a former Ambassadorial Scholar from the UK to Colombia in NY) who founded Fair Lady in South Africa in 1967 as well as Associated Magazines in 1982 which is the largest, privately owned publishing house in the country. Jane and I met at Ray’s Rotary Reunion and discussed our interest in issues facing women and girls. Because of Jane’s involvement with numerous service organizations and commitment to women and girls in South Africa, I reached out to her concerning service opportunities and she recommended I contact Ons Plek!

Ons Plek, meaning ‘our place’ in Afrikaans, has a mission to improve the lives of female street children in Cape Town by helping them re-build their lives and their self-esteem. Ons Plek now focuses on preventative work as well preserving family lives of children before they run away from home. The vision of Ons Plek is “that female street children will be successfully re-united with their families and that failing that, they will be sufficiently empowered at Ons Plek Projects to grow into healthy, independent functioning members of society.” Whether they come on their own or are recommended to Ons Plek, many of the girls have experienced significant trauma and face problems of severe poverty; abuse whether emotional, physical, or sexual; problems of unemployment; crime; violence; alcohol or drug abuse; family violence and/ or instability; and lack of safe housing*. Whether South African or foreign minors, many of the girls face learning difficulties and sometimes mental health problems that create challenges for assimilating into both the education system and mainstream society. 

Ons Plek and Siviwe address the needs of an average of 100 to 150 children per year with three different projects. Ukondla is a community prevention project located in the township of Philippi and works with another 73 children, Siviwe (“God has heard us”) is a therapeutic and developmental shelter for more ‘settled’ girls which focuses on reunifying them with their families and integrating them into the education system. Lastly, Ons Plek is the intake location for girls where the staff focuses on assessment and developmental care. The organization focuses on family reunification, counseling, social skills, and educational programing for the girls at Ons Plek and Siviwe.

For those girls who are not yet ready or unable to return to formalized school, Ons Plek offers the bridging program ‘Morning School’ on Mon – Thur from 9:30 am – 12:00 pm. In addition to assessing the girls’ abilities,  Morning School assist girls in adapting to the routine and structure of school while giving them confidence in their ability levels. I have the privilege to serve as a Morning School teacher every Wednesday and Thursday at Ons Plek. Although I was raised by a mother who was an educator and I have experience teaching or tutoring at abused children shelters and after-school programs in the States, Ons Plek has been a phenomenal and challenging experience. To be continued ….

* The description of the mission, vision, and programs are taken from Onsplek.co.za

** In the interest of not making this post too long, I plan to blog about my experiences at Ons Plek in subsequent blogs J

*** PLEASE PLEASE check out Ons Plek's website. If you are interested in learning more stories about the girls and the organization check-out this book 

School Update

Last Semester (IN LIFE) as a Student

I spend a lot of time studying & drinking tea at Coffee Shops

As a reminder for everyone – in South Africa, I am attending the University of Cape Town and studying towards an MPhil in Justice and Transformation with a Concentration in Peace and Conflict Resolution.

For the final semester of coursework, I am taking my program’s required Post-Conflict Justice in Africa course taught by Hugo van der Merwe, the Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR). The course focuses on “the role of empirical research in building knowledge of post-conflict reconciliation and transitional justice” by studying existing transitional justice mechanisms such as truth commissions, prosecutions, reparations, amnesty, etc. In class we address questions of delivering truth and justice as well as promoting reconciliation after a conflict.

In addition to my course in the Politics faculty, I received permission to take courses in the Economics Department. I am enrolled in Developmental Challenges in Africa and I audit Economics of Conflict, War, and Peace. I was keen to pursue further studies in the Economics faculty to (1) assist with my thesis research and (2) because  socio-economic development in post-conflict transitioning societies is essential to sustainable peace; accordingly, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary. Upon graduation, I will have completed courses in the Politics, Economics, and Social Development faculties; this is my attempt to make up for the missed opportunity to utilize Davidson’s Center for Interdisciplinary Studies program as an undergrad.

Lastly, a brief update on my thesis – I presented to the Department last Friday and have started the draft of my Master’s thesis. My working title is: “Post- Conflict Private Sector Development: Does it Promote Sustainable Growth & Peace? A Case Study of Mozambique.” Private sector development addresses “the twin goals of economic growth and peace, in other words, to strengthen conditions for the growth of a stable, accessible, and competitive private sector and to contribute to a lasting and durable peace” (FIAS- GTZ 2009: 11).

To simplify à post-conflict countries face numerous challenges in not only preventing a relapse into conflict but also in pursing political, social, and economic change. With all the competing priorities of a post-conflict environment, my paper will focus on economic reconstruction and specifically local, private sector development. I am using the case study of Mozambique to address (1) the shifts in the global approach to post-conflict economic reconstruction; (2) the vital role of the state in post-conflict socio-economic development; (3) the importance of conflict- sensitive private sector engagement; (4) the need for a hybrid method that includes both the investment climate and interventionist approaches; and (5) the limitations of the current private sector development framework that holds Mozambique as a ‘success story.’ [For those former classmates and colleagues who study this subject matter, this is a general explanation of the topic for my family and Rotarians. If you are interested in my actual methodology, research question, and framework then email me ... especially if you want to give me advice or suggest resources J ]