Page 31 - Rural Voice III - Responding to a Pandemic

When we returned to the office, we assisted young people to use our WhatsApp and emails to apply for the social relief fund that SASSA was giving to people who were not working. We appealed on their behalf, and followed up until they received the grant. We also monitored the post office where people collected their grants, to ensure social distancing, mask-wearing, sanitising, and timely receipt of grants.
Two hundred fieldworkers started working with us in Port St Johns at the beginning of August 2020, hired through the Expanded Public Works Programme of the Department of Public Works. In March 2020 – when lockdown level 5 started – we were told to stop everything, because the fieldworkers needed PPEs as they were going door-to-door in communities. Fifty-seven fieldworkers were focused on gender-based violence, and 143 were responsible for promoting hygiene and COVID-19 regulation strategies, like social distancing, mask-wearing and hand washing.
supporT neTworks during covid-19
As Port St Johns is a rural town, we work with traditional leaders. They refer rape cases to us, so that we may liaise with the police and health facilities. We also have a good relationship with officials and social workers at the Department of Social Development and SASSA. When a child is raped, we take the social worker of that ward to remove the child to safety. We work very closely.
SCAT supported us with funds for food parcels. They also helped us to work from home, providing a laptop, cellphone, modem and data. OSFSA gave us R200,000 for food parcels and masks, which benefitted 300 people. The Department of Public Works gave us PPE, sanitiser, gloves and masks for our office and our fieldworkers in the rural areas.
lessons from working during The covid-19 pandemic
I learnt there are so many vulnerable people. When we gave people food parcels, they cried, they sang songs, and they told us this was the first time they had received food like this. If SCAT hadn’t provided laptops and cellphones, communication would have been very difficult. We were helped by the Expanded Public Works Programme fieldworkers, who identified the poorest of the poor, and assistance and support from SCAT made it possible for us to identify those who most needed food parcels and other help.
“If there were incidents of gender-based violence, people would have
to call us or WhatsApp us, so that we could refer cases.”
Training workshops
R 5693
Grant given for data and connectivity
R 1788
Port St Johns, food parcel contents
RURAL VOICE III: RESPONDING TO A PANDEMIC
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