WHO WE ARE
SINANI is a Nguni word which means "we are with you." SINANI / KwaZulu-Natal Programme for Survivors of Violence aims to work towards a peaceful, empowered, dynamic society. SINANI works towards rebuilding the social fabric of communities most severely affected by violence.
Cycle of Violence and Poverty
Communities affected by violence such as political violence tend to experience high levels of other forms of violence for many years. This could be high levels of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual violence or economically motivated crime. Violence may have divided the community and these divisions may affect development of the community. This contributes further to lack of resources, unemployment and poverty. The high levels of violence and poverty usually add to the rate of HIV infection.Programmes
Sinani works with community based structures to develop locally appropriate support programmes. Together with our community partners we have come up with 3 programmes:" Peace Programme
" Poverty Alleviation Programme
" HIV and AIDS Programme
Partners
Sinani works with communities worst affected by violence, poverty and HIV/AIDS. We work with:" Community leaders
" Community Based Structures
" Men and women
" Youth
" Children and their caregivers
1. Peace Programme
Work with leadership, men, women and youth tries to bring together people across
the divides in the community. The peace programme tackles sensitive topics such
as reconciliation, trauma and gender issues. The core theme of respect is used
to encourage communities affected by violence to restore the dignity of all who
were affected by violence.
Projects of the peace programme include:
" Leadership forums
" Gender based violence prevention
" Respect Campaign and Men's Movement
" Restorative justice work
" Trauma healing workshops and counselling
" Research projects
2. Poverty Alleviation Programme
Sinani involves leadership and community members in economic development. This
includes income generating projects which are linked to local municipal economic
development plans. It also includes career development to encourage youth and
adults to find their personal career interests and further their education to
reach these dreams.
The projects of the poverty alleviation programme are:
" Community based organisation (CBO) development
" Income generating projects
" Career development
3. HIV and AIDS Programme
This programme helps community based organisations to offer supportive services
to people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS. It works on prevention of the spread of HIV
and AIDS which look at ways of reducing risk behaviour in culturally appropriate
ways. One of the aims of this project is to reduce stigma and discrimination towards
people affected by HIV and AIDS. The message we spread is that we are all affected
by this disease. The programme also provides specialised support to children affected
by HIV and AIDS.
The projects of the HIV and AIDS Programme are:
" Staff sensitisation and training
" Community sensitisation
" Behavioural change workshops
" Orphaned and vulnerable children's project
" Youth and children's circus project
Support Programmes
Sinani also has programmes which support the outreach work. These include:" Training and consultancy
" Materials development
" Public relations
" Research Programme
Walk the Talk
Sinani believes that we should practise implementing the same principles we are trying to develop with partner communities. This includes:" Collaborative and democratic functioning
" Participatory management
" Creating space for processing of our own past experiences of violence
" Constructive conflict resolution and team building
" Drawing on local income generating projects and emerging businesses
" Talking honestly about HIV and AIDS in the workplace
" Set a platform for debates on indigenous cultural practices.
Mission and Vision
The vision and broad aims of SINANI/Programme for Survivors of violence are to contribute towards the development of a peaceful, empowered, dynamic society. In order to achieve this, SINANI works towards rebuilding the social fabric of communities severely affected by violence.Hence the objectives of the organisation are:
o To help people deal with painful experiences of violence, as well as with feelings of anger and guilt.
o To develop income-generating projects which offer hope and alternatives to violence.
o To promote reconciliation within communities, families and individuals previously in conflict.
o To develop good governance in the form of leadership which empowers communities to participate collaboratively in their own development