Cath Slevin: Changing lives, one child at a time

Today, the rise of social entrepreneurship is being driven by passionate individuals and their organisations who want to make a real difference when it comes to finding solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing our world today.

One of these inspirational women is Cath Slevin, a campus pastor at Linc church who also heads up the Linc Foundation, the NGO arm of the church responsible for social upliftment.

Cath initiated Linc Foundations first project, Talk to Me two and a half years ago, after she and her husband, Mark, also a pastor at Linc, paid a visit to the Thuthuzela Rape Centre at General Gizenga Mpanza hospital in KwaDukuza.

“Our intention was to find out how we could help at the centre but it became apparent that one of the greatest needs was for counselling of the victims of this crime.

“With the overburdened government health system there is an extensive waiting list for someone to be seen by a psychologist.

“This prompted the initiation of our first program, Talk to Me. We employed a wonderful lady from Nkobongo and sent her on training courses for trauma counselling and play therapy.”

The Talk to Me project started at one junior school in Nkobongo where pupils struggle with issues such as domestic violence.

“There are many challenges out there and unfortunately it is impossible to rescue or remove every child from their situation but I do believe there must be ways of equipping them with skills to keep moving forward despite their circumstances.

“This has led to our partnership with two organizations – One Million Strong and Cool to Be Me. Both have developed phenomenal curriculum’s for developing social emotional skills,” said Cath, who believes that empowering children to manage their emotions in a positive way and taking responsibility for themselves will enable them to make good decisions and develop healthy relationships with others.

The mother of three, is also a qualified dietitian with 17 years in practice before she joined the Linc team almost three years ago.

“I believe God has enabled each of us to be a part of the solution for our country and being part of the Linc Foundation team has given me an opportunity to be a part of a story far bigger than my own.”