Famsa hosted its AGM on August 14 at a local restaurant, where local attorney Adri van Schalkwyk-Le Roux was the guest speaker.

The chairperson of Famsa’s committee, Santa Vermaak, welcomed everyone and thanked the staff for their hard work.

Vermaak resigned as chairperson and volunteer, as she is moving out of Secunda. She said she would miss everyone, and learnt so much while working as a volunteer at Famsa since 2012.

André Blom, the treasurer, spoke about Famsa’s finances and said that as an NGO, they relied on donations from the community.

He thanked the Department of Social Development for its funding to Famsa and the auditor, Pieter Pretorius, who has also served as Famsa’s bookkeeper for years.

Pretorius also spoke about Famsa’s finances. The director of Famsa, Marcelle Victor, said Famsa will continue to deliver services to the community.

Victor said it is better to intervene or prevent problems than to fix them afterwards in family matters. She spoke about statistics, and how many people Famsa reached compared to last year.

Apart from offering counselling services, Famsa also aims to educate parents on how to care for their children, to prevent the children from being removed from their families and placed in homes.

She spoke about the importance of families and said stable families lead to a stable society. Van Schalkwyk-Le Roux said children are her passion, and she helped in divorce cases and family matters with co-parenting plans.

“It is better to raise children in peace than in pieces,” said Van Schalkwyk-Le Roux.

She said that with August being Women’s Month, women should celebrate that they are strong, sacred, slightly sassy, and created in God’s image.

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“You are God’s masterpiece. Why are women often crucifying themselves?” asked Van Schalkwyk-Le Roux.

“We are all designed with divine intention. Say it to yourself in the mirror every morning and every evening.”

She encouraged women to make self-care a priority, start working on themselves, and think positive thoughts about themselves.

“If you feel low, remember, Jesus Christ thought you were worthy enough to die on a cross for you.”

The meeting ended with a meal.

Volunteers are welcome to get involved at Famsa or support it financially.For more information, contact Famsa at 017 631 1593.

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