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The kits also have Emergency USB port charges.
According to Fernandez the number of gender-based violence (GBV) victims accessing psychosocial support services provided and funded by DSD has increased from 51 790 in 2020-’21 to 76 178 in 2022-’23.
“There are many individuals for whom shelters are a beacon of hope,” she said. “Load shedding threatens to extinguish that light, literally and figuratively, when it plunges these facilities into darkness.
“With these load-shedding relief packs we are offering a small respite for the staff and clients, which I hope will ensure a more effective running of operations when the power goes off.”
Fernandez added that working with survivors during power cuts, and not having any back-ups for light or electricity, left them with a sense of feeling threatened.
“Residents even fear the perpetrators may locate them and enter the shelter because the electricity for the fencing goes off,” explained the minister.
“While the power crisis has devastated the economy, causing widespread damage to small and large companies alike, it is the most vulnerable in society that are suffering the most and do not have the resources to buffer themselves from the worst impacts of load shedding.”
