Project addresses GBV’s root causes
The AFXB project will include training on gender reconciliation, conflict transformation workshops for men and women, counselling support for victims, awareness campaigns and professional referral services in response to GBV.
When FXB officially launched AFXB as an association project in Alra Park at a stakeholder meeting on October 26, the message was that all genders should have a voice.
FXB is an international NGO that believes in a world where everyone has a chance to survive and thrive.
Their mission is to bring about lasting change in the countries and communities where they operate to eradicate poverty and promote social justice.
Albina du Boisrouvray founded FXB in 1989, three years after her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud, a rescue helicopter pilot, died during a mission in Mali. The values of generosity and compassion by which Bagnoud lived underpin FXB.
FXB has operated in SA for the past 24 years, offering various community education and awareness workshops which support services to survivors of GBV.
The AFXB project is designed to help defend the fundamental rights of women and children, with the primary objectives of improving care for women and girls affected by GBV, raising community awareness of GBV through participatory theatre and enabling communities, including men and boys, to become change agents.
The collaboration will focus on all GBV issues in the community, including when men are the victims.
The country director of FXB South Africa, Simon Mothoagae, addressed the stakeholders, saying GBV does not only affect women and children and that men, too, are victims but are too ashamed to speak out.
“Everyone affected by GBV should have a voice. With the collaboration in Nigel, we aim to encourage victims and perpetrators to speak out so we get to the real reason behind the violence. That way, we can facilitate a sustainable solution,” Mothoagae said.
He said the workshops and outreach projects would be called gender reconciliation instead of GBV.
“We want families and communities to reunite and create a safe space for all genders to speak out or receive counselling. It is about addressing the root causes, not just the symptoms,” he said.
The GBV awareness project will run over the next year in three areas – Nigel, Delmore Gardens and Soweto.
The AFXB project will include training on gender reconciliation, conflict transformation workshops for men and women, counselling support for victims, awareness campaigns and professional referral services in response to GBV, dialogue debates and conferencing on best practices.
Mothoagae concluded the meeting by saying men and women should be encouraged to reconcile, respect each other and find solutions together.
“He for she, and she for him. Stand together and build a community and a country of peace and reconciliation,” he concluded.
The AFXB co-ordinator in Alra Park is Anthony Haai, who you can call on 071 609 3162.
