Project Brave: Safari With A Purpose

About Project Brave

Project Brave Foundation is a non-profit organization focussed on the upliftment of marginalized women and children in South Africa. Founded in 2016 by Sacha Proctor, Sisonke Petse and Candice Street, the programme exists to provide a fresh start for women and children who find themselves living and working on the streets and provides physical, emotional and social support to get back on their feet.

“The programme is focused on empowering each woman to embark on a skills development stream in order to help them learn a skill that can better their chances of finding formal employment,” says Candice Nareen, Chief Operations Officer at Project Brave.

“We have a strict assessment process before we accept women into our programme. We believe that in order to establish trust, we need to go into their environment and meet them at their level. Through this initial meeting and conversation, we assess the ladies with a set of questions that focus specifically on their ‘desire to change’ and if they are serious about getting their family out of the circumstances they are in.”

“We look at what experience the ladies may have from the past and also ask them what they would like to do. From that, we try to align them with a specific skills development center that teaches them what they want to learn. Some of the practical skills include sewing, crocheting, and baking. Others include courses on domestic work, becoming a childminder, teaching assistant, receptionist, cashier and for those wanting to start their own small business we equip them in financial literacy and a business course.”

“While the mothers are in the programme, the children are placed in an Early Childhood Development Centre, close to their residence. It is our hope that if the mom does find work, she is able to take over the costs of education. We also work with teachers, occupational therapists, and speech therapists to determine any delays that the child may have and create home-based activities to help the mom equip her children for school.”

The programme has seen success in Patricia who was found begging at the traffic light. “She decided to do practical skills development in the area of cooking, sewing, crocheting, baking and financial literacy. Today she runs a small business in Alexandra township where she sells food and clothes to the people in her area. Her child is in school and being educated rather than being bound to a street corner,” says Candice.

“The future for Project Brave is exciting and we are looking forward to seeing far more women and children pass through the programme. Our hope is that these ladies have the opportunity to heal from the past, find value and dignity to face their present circumstances and to receive the skills and tools to help change their future.”

How can you help

If you’d like to contribute to Project Brave before your travels, financial donations would be the easiest and most beneficial way to support the organisation. Donations can be made via EFT, PayPal or SnapScan. If you would like to proceed with a donation read more Safari. Alternatively, you can also contribute by donating non-perishable food items and toiletries which forms part of the monthly care packs they distribute.We look forward to giving back to Project Brave over the coming years and sharing this with our clients.