A home of hope for survivors of GBVF

Khanyisile Motsa is an example of bringing light to others who are going through the horrors of gender-based violence (GBV).
In isiZulu, the name Khanyisile means the one who brings light.

Motsa embodies true principles of ubuntu and she is a hero in her own right, having fought GBV and human trafficking for the past 24 years while bring light and changing the paths of survivors of GBV. 

Motsa, who is affectionately known to many as Mam’Khanyi, is the founder and director of Home of Hope for Girls, a Johannesburg-based non-profit organisation (NPO) that she started in 2000 but only finalised its registration in 2001. 

The NPO offers a safe residence to children and teenagers who have survived abusive situations, predominantly linked to child sex trafficking.

It has two homes in the suburbs of Johannesburg and an outreach centre in the Hillbrow/Berea area. The shelter can house 75 girls under its full-time care and additional 150 children who are supported by its outreach programme.

“We also aim to restore safety, dignity and opportunity to those who have survived abuse,” explained Motsa. 

She describes GBV as a pandemic that needs everyone to stand up and combat it. 

“It is time to stop protecting perpetrators. Many of us in communities know who the perpetrators are, but we make excuses for them because they are our loved ones or provide for our families. It is wrong to enable the abuse,” Motsa said.  

She called on South African law enforcement authorities to increase measures to verify every child who passes through the borders of the country, because some of the cases she came cross were of children who were trafficked by women who claimed to be their mothers or relatives. 

Many of the children she houses under her shelter are survivors of sex trafficking and were also used to transport and sell drugs, which she defined as the worst form of child labour. 

Girls roaming the streets
Motsa, a mother of five, started the organisation by taking four girls from the streets of Johannesburg in 2000 when she moved from KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg. 

She was shocked to discover many girls roaming the streets of Hillbrow, and she bravely went to find out what was going on with them. 

She learnt they were selling drugs and being sexually exploited, for the benefit of old men who left the girls with sexually transmitted diseases. 

“I took the first four girls to move in with me and my five children. I wanted to help them. I did not have a budget, so we shared whatever I had. Before I knew it, I had about 105 girls by the end of that year. I was evicted from my place of residence because it is against the sectional titles law to have that many people in a residential unit,” she said. 

Fortunately, her logistics company was still doing well and she managed to lease five residential units that they could rent in one complex in Johannesburg. 

The services that the organisation renders include providing a safe shelter, assisting survivors with opening cases of any form of abuse with the help of the police, screening survivors for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, offering them psycho-social support and counselling. 

The organisation also works closely with numerous local schools to raise awareness about GBV, sex trafficking and child abuse. 

At the moment, it houses 25 girls who are in school and 18 at various institutions of higher learning.  

Over the past three years, many of the children have benefitted from various learnership programmes and bursaries offered by the Transport Education Training Authority and its stakeholders.  

Motsa explained that she has approached the government for funding but has never received assistance since the inception of her NPO. 

To financially supplement the running of Home of Hope for Girls,  Motsa sells fat cakes with the help of other women at various taxi ranks across Johannesburg. She also sells raw honey and scented candles.

In addition,  Home of Hope for Girls has a small garden at the shelter that is run by the beneficiaries so that they can grow their own food. 

The shelter has a computer lab that was donated by the Trevor Noah Foundation. Over the years, it has received about 19 awards for its work from local and international organisations, including Shoprite Women of the Year award, Feathers award and the Global Citizen award. ¥

For more information visit: www.homeofhopeforgirls.org.za 
If you would like to purchase scented candles or raw honey from Khanyisile Motsa email:infohomehopeoffice01@gmail.com