Healing Hands: 15 years of impact, one urgent call to action

GQEBERHA – This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Healing Hands Community Project (HHCP) in our city – a milestone that celebrates not only the longevity of this project but, most importantly, the survival of the city’s most vulnerable.

The work done by Healing Hands is manifold as this organisation reaches out to the most defenceless members of society. With open arms, willing hearts and healing hands, its people venture where not many dare to go; they change lives and ensure the upliftment of those who need it most.

Founded in 2010 as a single soup kitchen responding to poverty across Nelson Mandela Bay, the Healing Hands Community Project has grown into a trusted nonprofit and frontline safety net.

What began as a small relief initiative and grassroots emergency response and intervention has evolved into a structured and proudly women-led organisation supporting everything from gender-based violence safe sheltering to youth vocational training, guided by its founder and director, Magdalene Bangaree.

While initially serving Central and North End, it now extends its reach across multiple communities throughout Nelson Mandela Bay.

For 15 years, Healing Hands has stepped into spaces where help is scarce and hope is fragile. From aiding homeless and displaced people lacking any support network, children from underprivileged homes and impoverished households, to families impacted by natural disasters and women and children affected by domestic violence, they continuously fill the gaps where municipal and provincial services often fall short.

And the help and support they provide are vast and far-reaching: more than 10 000 meals are served annually; through its weekly community health programmes, eight districts are visited in and around Nelson Mandela Bay, providing essential healthcare to vulnerable patients; and rapid response has been deployed during every community crisis since 2010.

Its people-centred and structured approach – rooted in compassion and accountability – ensures effective collaboration with partners and service providers, which positively impacts people’s lives in the long term.

To render dignified support, focusing on moving people forward, a dedicated team of experienced professionals and corporate service providers addresses root causes and helps individuals to establish clear pathways toward independence through various structured community programmes, moving individuals from crisis to self-sufficiency.

The organisation has a 75% successful reintegration rate, proving that they help people not only to survive crises but also to support them in building lasting stability.

Close collaboration with public institutions – such as the NMBM and MBDA, the Department of Social Development, SAPS, local schools, churches, faith organisations and local health facilities – ensures effective referrals and continuity of care.

Now, as the organisation looks to the next 15 years, the project is focused on strengthening infrastructure, coordination and bringing about sustainable, city-level solutions.

Central to this vision is a 15-year flagship project that entails an Integrated Night Shelter and Gender-Based Violence Crisis Centre: a facility designed to offer a combination of shelter, protection, healthcare and reintegration under one roof, ensuring recovery and sustained stability.

15 years on, Healing Hands remains more than a charity; it is a cornerstone of community resilience. It is obvious that this organisation knows what our city’s residents need and how to serve its people: a combination of benevolence and efficient frameworks, and community reliance strengthened by sound governance.

As the city’s needs continue to grow, the importance of sustaining and expanding this work has never been clearer and more urgent.

Nevertheless, while HHCP is celebrating a decade and a half of impact, it stands at a critical crossroads. The organisation must now meet a R5.2 million operational mandate to keep its eight-district reach alive, while facing a global and local funding crisis that threatens to pull essential support from the thousands of residents who depend on its services.

It is important to emphasise that 100% of public donations go directly to funding the programmes of Healing Hands Community Project, ensuring that every contribution makes a tangible difference on the ground.

As a community-driven initiative, this project depends on the active involvement of all who call this place home. Only through collective effort and shared responsibility can we shape a stronger, more inclusive future for everyone.

To learn more about how you can help to serve others, bring hope to those who need it most, and to explore the many ways in which to support HHCP, contact the organisation at 068 701 6168 (WhatsApp), 081 582 2116 (Admin), hi@healinghandscp.co.za or visit www.healinghandscp.co.za.