The Cape Town hourglass continues to drain, and as it does, I find myself feeling less and less like my old self – an expected occurrence, but I hope an interesting topic nonetheless. One of the key contributors in this shift has come from my experience studying and interning abroad as it has given me the chance to leave a monotonous life at home to explore and an entirely new way of living.One aspect of this study abroad program in particular is the internship experience. I have been fortunate enough to intern for a short period of time at two domestic violence shelters, first Saartjie Baartman and now Place of Hope. Each woman and child has separate needs and by working at both I have seen various ways of operating and approaching similar issues. I intend to describe these methods in hopes of finding commonalities; I do not mean to determine which center is better but rather what role the shelters play in the lives of the women and children.
The women who stay at the Saartjie Baartman Center for the first time are allowed to stay for three months. At the end of the three months they can apply for transitional housing—if it is available—at the center or they must find some where else to go. The transitional housing allows the women who have stayed at the shelter for three months to continue to rent out an apartment for a small monthly fee. I think that the transitional housing is a great aspect of Saartjie Baartman; however the number of apartments is limited so only a few women can live there. About two weeks into my internship at SB I sat in on a house meeting. Some of the women expressed their concerns about the three month time period. Those who spoke up felt that it was not enough time to search for a job and a safer place to go. One woman in particular, openly admitted that she would go home to the source of the abuse. This is a major problem for the women at Saartjie Baartman, however different places have different time limits. The residency policy at Place of Hope for example, allows the woman and her children (if applicable) to stay up to six months, which can be negotiated as there are women who have been at the shelter for longer.Two other topics discussed at the Saartjie Baartman house meeting were empowerment and employment. Many women in the shelter left situations where they were provided for financially so when they go in search of a job they feel overwhelmed. The center has a number of programs that are meant to address these issues including: card-making, jewelry-making, pottery, and soap-carving. Each project gives the women a source of income, which can also serve as a source of empowerment. Unfortunately, at the time, the women did not feel that these projects were enough, which is why there are also counselors and social workers on duty working with the women to find alternative empowerment options. The counselors are there to give the residents a safe, private space to talk one-on-one. Ideally, Place of Hope would have a similar setup, however it has been difficult to make ends meet.
At the moment, POH is understaffed and can use all of the help they can get, which makes me feel that I’m contributing immensely. If someone doesn’t show up, everyone else has to make up for them where they can. Some days I’m in the crèche exercising my subpar babysitting skills while other days I’m typing notes for the social worker. From my days working in the crèche I have learned that I’m good with the children to the extent that I can play games, pick them up and make them laugh. However, when it comes to actual caretaking, I’m not exactly the best candidate as I cannot change diapers properly and I have little to no backbone when it comes to being an authoritative figure. At the end of the day, tasks need to be completed so the best I can do is lighten someone else’s load.
