Lifeline Durban Outreach Project - Ukuba Nesibindi

The crime rate, HIV infection, unemployment and poverty are factors that constantly remind society that its people has many stresses that might need some counselling; a lot of innocent lives depend on our ability to keep this service running.  A drop-in centre was established at Warwick Junction, which is also known, as "The Gateway To Durban", where ±400 000 people from the Greater Durban Community pass through on a daily basis, by taxi, train and bus.  Objectives are to provide a drop-in face-to-face counselling facility, to provide a central place where prevention programmes can be implemented, to develop community outreach projects, to reach "hard-to-reach" groups, to engage in advocacy and lobbying by forming constructive and relevant partnerships.

Innovation

The LifeLine outreach centre Ukuba Nesibindi is the only one of its kind in the eThekweni Unicity district providing dynamic intervention programmes.  The programme has trained 439 people. The programme has also been approached by community members from Qolo Qolo, Ndwedwe, Groutville, Adams Mission and by 2 doctors working with HIV/AIDS in an informal settlement of 93 000; by the Amaqadi Tribal Authority, a rural village with 10 000 inhabitants. 

Effectiveness

The increased demand for this service has lead to a number of serious challenges, the major one being lack of capacity and a shortage of funds. Programmes managed from 1/3/2002 to 5/6/2003 achieved the following: AIDS - voluntary counselling & testing 2057 clients, ongoing counselling 119 clients, 2x support groups 105, 6x community 456, 29x Awareness Campaigns 4070 reached.

Drug Prevention & Life Skills has20+ youth on the streets per week.  Rape - Ukuba Nesibindi and Prince Mishyeni 496.  Domestic Violence - Counselling and Support of 60 clients.  Sew Worker Outreach - 210 girls already reached 5 had VCT 15 returned to school, 3 returned home, 3¬+4 participated in ECPAT Peer Group training in Johannesburg.  Literacy - 40 children per week in groups of 10 per session between 1st March and 31st August2002.  Restorative Practice - Intensive therapy with groups of young living with AIDS.  Educare - Provided Mon-Fri for 27 toddlers.

Poverty Impact

The provision of this important service addresses all the relevant social problems attached to poverty.  It creates a higher standard of living, vastly affecting poverty indirectly.

Sustainability

The amount of R230 000 is requested to support the extension of the Gender Violence and VCT projects that have been running since March 2002.  Most of the LifeLine volunteer counsellors we refer to are unemployed and cannot afford transport to the centre and so to facilitate this training, funding will urgently have to be sourced for their transport as well as the other costs involved in setting up and maintaining this training.  Funds to assist with the management of the other 4 programmes (Literacy, Educare, Restorative Practice and Drug Prevention-Life Skills) are raised by the Child and Youth Care Dept of the Durban Institute of Technology.

Replication

Replication is possible and necessary.  The model presented in this project has been proven to be more than effective for replication.

Partnerships

• National Government - Dept of Health
• Provincial Government - Dept of Health
• Local Government - eThekweni Municipality 2.94% funds, Durban Institute of Technology, Child and Youth Development Dept.
• Private Sector - Unico Manufacturing 6.71% funds.