Byline: Andani Matumba

24 May 2022

With the rise of Gender Based Violance issues within the the Province of Mpumalanga, Mr Zwane and Mr Radebe decided to form a safe haven which will educate community members on GBV issues, empower young people and support GBV victims.T

The Roots-Izimpande is an NPO based in Ex 19,  eMbalenhle and was formally registered in the year 2021 around October and its main objective is to curb Gender based Violence by starting from the root cause, which is to educate children from a young age that girls/women don’t abuse boys and vise verse, offering assistance to GBV victims,.

The NPO also donates food, blankets and clothes to the less fortunate and give support to community members after they have been left vulnerable by natural disasters and unforeseen circumstances. 


“When victims approach us for assistance, we get them assistance from the relevant authorities such as social workers, the police and psychologists, said Mr Zwane, Chairperson of the Roots. 


Zwane stated further that the NPO is currently operating on capital provided by the chairperson and vise chairperson’s personal funds and that they do need assistance from government and other stakeholders to grow the NPO.


“The most important thing we need is an office and a safe-house, because current victims approach our homesteads for assistance and we feel that there is little to no privacy in a home environment.


It is also difficult to accommodate the victims in our respective homes because it endangers the lives of our family members, therefore a safe-house would be ideal for victims being abused by their family members and well known members of the community”, he added. 


The deputy chairperson of the Roots, Mr Radebe says they need to get donations for winter school uniform and shoes for orphans. 
“As winter is company we request that community members, companies and the state assist with tracksuit donations and school uniform for orphans attending schools around eMbalenhle, and those willing to assist can contact us on ,…… So that we can make the list available to them,” said Radebe.