In striving towards making a difference for the betterment of the community the Local Network of Care (LNOC) has expanded to include all organisations within the Helderberg Basin as well as organisations in Macassar and Sir Lowry’s Pass.
Dr Naiema Taliep, senior researcher at the Institute for Social and Health Sciences, was one of the conveners of a workshop that took place in May in Sir Lowry’s Pass, where the key outcome was not only reviewing and obtaining buy-in of the overall goal, the mission statement and the core ethical principles and values that inspire and steer the manner in which the Basin of Abundance Vision 2024 project will be implemented, but also to draw members and groups’ attention to the fact that many of their fellow LNOC members and organisations are working in similar niche areas, and the need for collective action. “So we commenced with the identification of niche areas and using group activities to develop a collective vision for each of the clusters within LNOC,” said Taliep. “This workshop is seen as a starting point to achieving our collective vision for 2024.”
LNOC is a multi-sectoral skills and service platform, and consists of organisations that operate in various sectors, including the health sector, local government, non-governmental organisations, non-profit organisations, faith-based structures, and community-based organisations. In addition, LNOC comprises of not only organisations, but also individuals. The network is embedded in a participatory methodology and members are actively involved in identifying challenges and offering suggestions.
Taliep explained that one of the suggested ideas was to host a workshop to outline an action plan and a new approach for the network to work more effectively in various sectors and clusters, while still operating as a collective under the umbrella of LNOC.
She said: “Hence the Basin of Abundance 2024 workshop with which we aim to strengthen the network, and consequently services provided in the Helderberg region to address the various psycho-social and structural impediments that our communities face on a daily basis. The vision for Basin of Abundance 2024 is to increase the social well-being of all in the Helderberg. The mission is to strive towards optimal collaboration among all spheres of society through the engagement and support of organisations to reach societal well-being.”
Taliep said the LNOC has brought together multiple diverse sectors providing services within the Strand and Helderberg area, which had initially worked in silos, and the network was established to systematically strengthen relations among service providers within the Strand area, to amalgamate and share scarce resources to share learnings from each other’s experiences, support one another in providing services or delivering interventions that engender safety, peace, health, and social justice, and to prevent young people from mitigating to the streets.
Taliep continued that a key challenge in the low-income communities in Strand has been the lack of information for learners on future studies and possible career trajectories.
“This need was brought to the attention of one of our network partners, Boland College, and they conducted a roadshow in local communities so young people can make informed career and educational choices. Another scarce skill is psychosocial support for community members, especially youth during Covid-19. The matter was addressed in our LNOC meeting by some organisations offering free counselling and others sharing information on free counselling and the development of an information sheet on psychological coping methods targeting young people, which was distributed virtually as well as in print form,” she said.
For more information or to get involved, email Seneca Louw at Louwsa@unisa.ac.za.
