The stat that caught our attention was: “Our Kiddie packs are packed for children under the age of 12 and sadly make up 60% of our monthly quota”.
We were heartbroken that such a large percentage of those needing assistance from an organisation like The Jes Foord Foundation are actually children.
More sobering information from the Foundation is that 110 rapes occur in the country every day, and an estimated 40% of South African women will be raped in their lifetime.
Only 1 in 4 cases are reported and lower than 14% of perpetrators are convicted.
These are our sisters, mothers, daughters, neighbours, colleagues, friends, girls and women we pass on the road. It cannot be that this is the everyday life of women – and that children face this trauma daily too.. It must stop. We must keep talking about it and put our voices to this cause.
And so, as International Women’s Day, and the month of March, wrapped up, we decided to support the Jes Foord Foundation’s Handbag Project.
To read more about why Jes runs this organisation, visit her site here.
The foundation’s Handbag Project is one of their biggest ongoing initiatives.
They collect new and used handbags filled with toiletries and care items that can assist a rape victim after the initial reporting process.
The kiddie packs contain sanitary pads, tissues, children’s underwear, a notebook, crayons and colouring book, soap and facecloth and a soft toy or teddy for comfort.
It’s a little bag of hope and the first steps towards recovery.
To date, the Jes Foord Foundation has delivered 54 450 bags to rape survivors. But, they run short every month, so if you would like to help fill a bag, read more here.
