Support
and strength for vulnerable women and children
THE TREE:
Near to Illovo on KwaZulu-Natal’s South
Coast, about 300 women and their children gather
every Wednesday beneath a large tree to support
and encourage one another in their fight against
HIV/AIDS. During the past eight years, The Tree
has witnessed many stories told by women who were
once victims of the epidemic, but today are coping
with its effects on their lives.
In 1996, Jackie Branfield, an HIV/AIDS counsellor
and social worker from nearby Amanzimtoti, met
three destitute HIV-positive women who had been
beaten and cast out of their communities because
of their status. These rural women knew little
about HIV/AIDS, and even less about their human
rights. She went with them to the tree, away from
the curious stares of the neighbours, to talk
to them about how these problems arose and could
be solved.
The three women knew others who had suffered
similar abuse, and soon the group grew, meeting
regularly to share experiences and advice. Jackie
brought in several voluntary counsellors to help,
and among the hundreds who attend, there are some
who live in remote areas cut off from public transport,
or unable to afford minibus taxi fare, who walk
for up to three hours to reach the meeting place.
Sweetness Somi, one of The Tree's voluntary helpers,
recalled: "When I attended The Tree for the
first time, everyone was lost … nobody knew
anything about HIV/AIDS.” Now, every week,
the women receive education about the virus -
transmission, prevention and positive living -
as well as personal respect, a meal of soup and
bread, as well as clothing and food donations.
"We have nothing much in life,” says
Sweetness, ”but together we are strong."
 "Jackie
is like a mother to us," said Ladyfair from
Illovo township, an unemployed single parent of
two daughters and a granddaughter who has been
attending The Tree since 1998. "If there
is someone who didn't get anything that day, if
there hasn't been enough for everyone, Jackie
will take off her own shoes and give them to this
person."
A nurse and other volunteers sit on a patch of
grass beside the tree, treating sores, wounds
and other minor injuries and illnesses in the
women and children in what is called the “Tree
Clinic”. Assistance is given every week
with completing and following up on social grant
applications, and with reporting cases of abuse,
rape, domestic violence and child molestation
to the police and social workers. These local
public service-providers are familiar with the
work of The Tree, and respond positively to those
involved in the programme, both counsellors and
clients.
Khulelaphi from Sqhingini, a rural village north
of Illovo, was one of the original three women
who helped launch The Tree project. She now has
a job, can feed her family, and is informed about
AIDS, abuse and how to protect her children. "Jackie
and The Tree helped me so much. They gave me hope
to live," she said.
OPERATION BOBBI BEAR
 Jackie
is also Director of Operation Bobbi Bear, an NGO
based on the KZN South Coast that supports children
who fall prey to sexual violence. Operation Bobbi
Bear exists to "rescue, represent and reintegrate
sexually abused children, to minimise their risk
of HIV/AIDS, and to help them towards wholeness."
Giving more than 20 talks a month at local schools,
Jackie urges children to come forward and report
personal or known sexual assaults. Analysis of
the numbers of reported cases indicates that child
abuse in this area, particularly targeting the
age group between four to six years, is increasing
every year; more often than not, the perpetrators
are members of the child’s own family.
Operation Bobbi Bear assigns Child Safety Officers
to help children - who are often too young to
be able to describe the assault in a formal statement
- to report their experiences, by re-enacting
the crime with a specially designed teddy bear
as the victim.
Counselling is provided throughout the process,
and the young survivors are accompanied to the
police and district surgeon for reporting, examination,
rape-kits and treatment. Emergency foster-care
and overnight bags are arranged for those who
have been attacked by a member of their own household,
and all the children are assisted in preparing
to give evidence at their court cases by the OBB
legal advisor and Child Safety Officers.
To contact Operation Bobbi Bear, visit their
office at: 5c Oppenheimer Street, Umbogintwini,
4126, or write to them at P O Box 362 Winkelspruit,
4145.
Their phone number is 031 904 2237, and their
fax line is 031 904 2237.
To contact Jackie Branfield, call her on 083
235 5501, or send an
e-mail to: info@bobbibear.org.za
Source: IRIN PlusNews http://www.irinnews.org (UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian
Affairs) 30 August and 27 September 2004
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