Handbags filled with dignity

After being gang raped by four men at the age of 21, Jess Foord became a heroine to many South Africans when she established the Jess Foord foundation (JFF) to help victims of rape.

One of her initiatives is the handbag project where new or used handbags are donated, containing items that can assist a rape victim during the initial reporting process at the police station. Feeling deeply connected to this initiative, Sarah Swainson, local businesswoman and road runner developed the Dolphins Unite drive. She, along with five of her fellow runners from the Dolphin Coast Striders club will use the Comrades marathon as an opportunity to create awareness and raise funds for the handbag project.

“I have been running the Comrades for seven years and sometimes one just hits a brick wall where it is difficult to even put one foot in front of the other and giving up seems like the only solution. It is in times like these when we can use the motivation of running for a much bigger cause as our strength to continue,” said Swainson.

In SA an average of 165 sexual assault cases are reported every day, however research suggests that the real number of unreported cases is at least four times that.

Project manager at the Jess Foord Foundation, Trish Buchanan, said, “The handbag project is very important to Jess as it is seen as the first step to becoming clean. Once rape is reported, the victim is not allowed to wash or to shower until after all the evidence has been collected. The reality is that many woman do not have the toiletries to clean themselves afterwards, so the handbag becomes a lifeline and assists in restoring some dignity to the victims.”

The handbag contains soap, shampoo, a facecloth, body lotion, a hair brush, a tooth brush, a pack of tissues, sanitary pads, underwear and a note of encouragement. For the children, a Teddy bear is added. They are distributed to Thutuzela centres at public hospitals and cost R150 to fill.

On May 29, Michelle Tall, Sanele Dlamini, Janine Goes, Sarah Swainson, Nikola Ramsden and Debbie Holland will each be running the comrades for this cause.

The members of the Jess Foord Foundation plan to attend the race to cheer them on.

“We are so grateful to Sarah for organising the drive and to the runners for what they are doing,” said Buchanan.

Stand with them and donate towards the cause:

The Jess Foord Foundation

Nedbank Hillcrest Branch

Branch Code: 133826

Account number: 2338070488

Savings account

Reference: Dolphins

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