Our Mission Statement
We provide accessible, inexpensive, confidential 24 hour counselling services, promote emotional intelligence and well-being through personal skills development and also expert training and reliable support for volunteers to promote community well-being.
We also identify and facilitate the establishment of self-sustaining community development programmes , conduct professional training and skills development within the private and public sectors and actively develop networks and partnerships with other NGOs, business and Government.
Our vision is to be an effective and responsive provider of holistic social support services in KwaZulu-Natal.
About Us
LL & RC is a registered not-for-profit civil society organisation . It underwent a mandatory re-affiliation process in June 2007, scoring extremely well and receiving LifeLine Southern Africa affiliation for a further 3 years - which is the highest level of affiliation available. The affiliation process is based on the OCAT system, which is promoted by USAID & PACT as an excellent management tool.
LL & RC has a mandate in terms of its constitution to deliver services in 5 Municipal districts in the KZN Midlands and Northern areas. This is a vast area with large numbers of rural, unemployed and poorly educated people.
LL & RC has employed a strategy of entering a new local district each year and exiting this district within a two year period. During this time we aim to cascade generic, HIV and Rape counselling skills to 15 men and women in the area. Further we financially enabling these LL & RC ambassadors to educate their peers reaching on an average 5000 people per year per area.
This strategy of giving general life and counselling skills enables us to significantly change the gender and HIV knowledge status and we have experienced some significant demonstrations of behaviour change.
LL & RC aims to work in 3 local district simultaneously; each district being in a different stage of development and requiring different inputs from staff who become specialised in their field and move from district to district working with 15 men and 15 women ambassadors of LL & RC. It should be noted that the selection of the ambassadors is done in conjunction with the local and traditional authorities and is not dependent upon educational levels but on a moral commitment to their community. All interventions are in the local ethnic language, i.e. isiZulu and are commonly based near or in hospital settings.
The original 24-hour generic crisis service continues to run, but is now expanded to included a professionally monitored face-to-face service and an e-mail counselling service, which is becoming extremely popular with HIV+ persons. We continually seek to reach more people requiring our interventions of counselling and crisis intervention, now piloting an SMS information service too.
Achievements
The Gender Based Violence response by LL & RC focuses on preventing sexual crimes through educational inputs and supporting survivors of abuse. Our Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) project works in synergy with hospitals in 5 rural and 1 urban area to ensure a first world service is received.
Our success is acknowledged by receiving two national awards:
- A silver Impumelelo award in 2005 and
- The CPSI (Centre for Public Service Innovation award in 2006)
Research by the Medical Department at UKZN demonstrates that our results are favorably comparable with those of Vancover (11%) and Fenway Community Health Centre in Boston (46%)
LifeLine Southern Africa has also given a certificate of excellence for outstanding commitment and a lasting contribution on HIV/AIDS 24 hour Toll free help line.
Programmes
LifeLines programmes include;
- Emotional wellness: providing generic counselling free to anyone, anytime.
- VCT and AIDS Wellness: providing holistic support for HIV+ persons and preventive initiatives.
- Rape Crisis and Gender based violence: providing first world support services to rape survivors and preventative initiatives aimed at men and women.
- Training & EAP: Provision of Life skills and specific HIV, Gender and counselling related skills courses for individuals, community and corporates.
- Enhancing parenting for child safety and resilience.
The aim of this programme is to be more proactive in preventing crisis and to ensure greater accessibility to the LifeLine services through local district programmes. All of the programmes reflect continuing growth and learning which improve the overall effectiveness of the organisation. LifeLine has therefore become an increasingly dynamic organisation able to adapt and respond to changing needs in the communities served.
Formal Affiliations
LifeLine Southern Africa.
Goals and Objectives
To provide and maintain the highest quality 24-hour counselling and support service by recruiting, training and mentoring quality volunteer counsellors.
To provide gender based violence reduction programmes and to support and empower survivors including on-going advocacy and research.
To provide and develop a range of holistic services and training interventions to reduce HIV prevalence and support PWAs
To promote culturally appropriate interventions to enhance parenting for child safety and resilience.
To empower communities and individuals through knowledge and to market existing and develop new material for delivery to commercial clients.
To preserve our existing fiscal stability. To pursue new opportunities and develop partnerships.
To maintain efficient and effective office procedures and appropriate utilization of resources.
