Fighting crime with a difference

Salt Rock Country Club turned into a MAD party on Sunday afternoon at the first awards ceremony to celebrate the efforts of those who are Making A Difference (MAD).

A very emotional chairperson of the domestic safety training initiative, Nathalie Struwe said she was incredibly proud of the Salt Rock community for their involvement in the project.

“This day would not have been possible without all of you. Together we are fighting crime, which is awesome. Being able to empower each other with knowledge through this programme is the best superpower one could ask for,” said Struwe.

She said the certificates and goodie bags were given to participants based on attendance of classes.

“We had a class every month, focusing on different topics and skills to educate our domestic staff about crime and how to work together to fight crime in our area.

Lt Col Dieter Fittkau said although he was skeptical of the MAD programme when it first started a year ago, he had been pleasantly surprised.

“The important part of this initiative is that the skills you learn here are not just for Salt Rock. This knowledge is for you in your community too,” said Fittkau.

Salt Rock councillor Malcolm Hubner was the MC for the awards and said it had been a pleasure to watch the programme grow.

“We, as a community, see the benefits this programme has on our area and although there still is crime to tackle, it is mostly petty crime. We have seen a shift in crime from residential homes to business parks and parking lots, which I would like to think is due to this programme,” said Hubner.

The domestic workers were thrilled with their awards and enjoyed the delicious curry served for lunch.

For further information on the MAD, call Struwe on 081 509 6885 or email nathali@telkomsa.net