Vodacom volunteer accomplishes her Alex mission
Psychologist YUSHENE Rajkuar spends two years at the Alexandra Police Station working with children.
A Vodacom volunteer who spent two years working with Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) in Alexandra believes her mission of helping victims of abuse has now been accomplished.
Psychologist Yushene Rajkuar spent the past two years volunteering at the Alexandra Police Station, which houses the WMACA offices and the Kidz Clinic, and worked with physically and emotionally abused and raped children.
Part of her brief was to ensure that she prepared children to not only face life and the community after experiencing horrendous ordeals, but to also be able to be strong and tough enough to face the intimidating environment of court proceedings.
“In the two years, I worked with magistrates, court officials and social workers to make sure we prepare these children for life after their varying and horrifying ordeals and also to change community perceptions about child abuse and rape.
According to Rajkuar, she worked hard to assist the community through various non-profit organisations, among them were traditional healers and sangomas. She said, “I wanted to sensitise them to the rituals of grooming young sangomas, which often end up in the sexual violation of young women undergoing the grooming process,” Rajkuar said.
A young sangoma opened up and told the audience at the workshop how she was violated by her male groomer, who had claimed that part of the grooming rituals dictated that he have sex with her.
“In the two years that I worked with the community of Alexandra, I think I managed to change community perceptions, create awareness and remove the stigma attached to people that have been raped,” said Rajkuar, an Ekurhuleni resident, who said the stigma attached to rape victims was that they had asked for it.
“After my stint on the volunteer programme, I can now walk tall with pride that I accomplished the mission I set out to achieve, as you’re well aware that Alex is notoriously known for rape and other abuses committed against children. Some of those rapists are now doing time in prison because of my voluntary work in the community,” Rajkuar said.
