April 2015
WORD FROM THE CHAIR
IN THIS
ISSUE:
………………………..
Word from the
Chair
1
Quote for Life
1
Our new director 3
Training dept.
Since last month, Easter and Passover have come and gone and we pray it has
been a blessed time for all.
We welcome and congratulate Teresa da Silva as the new Director of Lifeline
Pretoria. She took up her post officially on 01 April 2015, but before she even
knew she had been the successful candidate, she brought in her father “Oupa” to
beautify the garden at the main entrance while she painted some of the
“vetplante pots”.
She was also one of the small workparty who transformed the small room next to
Agnes and Lucky’s office into a neat working room for André and Evans (our
Financial Boffins).
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Thoreau
5
LL National's visit to
LL Pretoria
7
Counselling tips
from Rozanne
7
Gala Dinner
8
………………………..
She meets with Varsity College students every Monday to monitor the Marketing Project they are
doing for LL Pretoria and she is the driving force behind the Vodacom Project to get us running for 24
hours each day.
So you see, she is a go-getter and will keep us on our toes!
Thanks to Zoran, two ineffectual computers at Watermeyer have been fixed and one newer one at
Queenswood has been installed. This was a gift from Sylvia’s family. One of the 'revitallised'
computers will be installed in Andre’s office and one into the director’s newly painted office.
Jenny and Tony have seen to the purchase of a larger colour printer for Watermeyer (the smaller one
couldn’t print both LifeLine and Lotto logos at the same time) and a new kettle for Mamelodi. The
under-used kettle at Queenswood has been transferred to Watermeyer to replace the broken one,
and someone has donated another kettle which will be going to Soshanguve.
The cupboards at Watermeyer were filled with a conglomeration of files and Sonya and Teresa have
started creating order out of chaos! Sonya has found treasures from the past which she plans to use
at the Gala Dinner. Please remember that the success of the Gala Dinner depends on the
involvement of EACH Volunteer. Some find the price to be beyond their means, so please get people
to sponsor a ticket so that others can come at half price.
Paul Henry, a friend of LifeLine, has delivered the first of his tri-monthly donations of cleaning
material from his business. Thank you Paul, we are most grateful.
Have any of our friends of LifeLine connections with SAPPI, as paper is a big expense when printing
Proposals, Training Manuals, etc.
Our wish list will no longer include coffee, milk, biscuits as these are covered by our monthly pledges.
Rozanne is at present the official Probationer Trainer and holds her sessions from 9:00-11:00
monthly. Each session covers a specific topic and is open to all.
God bless you.
Flick
Our new Director introduces herself
Teresa da Silva and her friend Fiona
Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to the Board for placing their faith in me and trusting
that I will always have LifeLine’s best interest at heart.
I will be 44 years young at the end of this month, and have worn many hats during this time. I am
a mother, wife, daughter, friend and sister. I spent 17 years as an Operations Manager, and it
was during this time that I decided to learn more about business. I registered for a Business
Course at UNISA, and one of my modules was Industrial Psychology. That was the start of my
endless love affair with studies and Psychology. I have since completed an Honours Degree in
Counselling Psychology.
During my undergrad I was a volunteer at the Kungwini Children’s Home. As part of my Honours
curriculum, all students had to join a Non-Profit Organization. As LifeLine was most closely
associated with my studies, I found myself on the Watermeyer doorstep in February 2014,
completing the Personal Growth and Counselling Courses. The rest, as they say is history. I
always find myself been pulled here, wanting to learn more, give more, and do more.
It was here, between devoted and committed people like Lorraine, Sylvia, Heleen, Flick and my
guru Rozanne that I learnt more about counselling and people than I could ever do from a
textbook. It was also during my first day at LifeLine that I met my person “Leoni”. What a feeling
to know that, no matter life throws at me, I can always rely on her gentle and honest feedback.
My research report during my Honours degree was entitled “Autonomous and Controlled
Motivation of People who Volunteer”. The conclusion of my study was that each volunteer brings
with them a unique skill, strength and need, and it is only when these are acknowledged and
cultivated, that NPO’s will retain volunteer commitment.
So, while I have been appointed as Director, I am, and always will first be a volunteer counsellor. I
believe that the volunteers are the lifeblood, our most valuable resource, to be nurtured and
respected.
It is because of this that I invite each and every volunteer to please come and have a “cuppa” with
me so we can get to know each other. Bring with you your ideas, inputs, skill-sets and passion
and I assure you of a long and prosperous adventure. At the end of the day, we all want the same
thing.
We do not want to be another’s voice, but empower them enough to find their own voice again.
We want to leave a legacy long after we are gone, that we made a difference and that the world is
just a bit of a better place for our children……..
I bring to you a unique combination of Business and Counselling. My business head is driven and
determined to get LifeLine to a place where we can sustain ourselves and always be available to
those who need us. A meeting has been set up with Vodacom for this week. Their “One-netexpress” service will enable us to have a “virtual” crisis line at all times. During the last month, we
have established a relationship with Varsity College and currently have twelve Marketing and
Public Relations students doing their final year internship with us. I am hoping to extend this
connection to other faculties at the College, drafting Psychology students to become volunteers
and Business students to market LifeLine. If ever I am found wanting in the business sphere, I
have the backup and support of my husband and his associates, all successful entrepreneurs in
their own right.
Away from LifeLine, I am a sport fanatic. If you ever see a frown on my forehead, I will most
probably be because South Africa lost in a World Cup Semi final! If you want to make my year, an
autograph from Usain Bolt will do. I am passionate about everything I do, a philosophy instilled by
my amazing parents. Both my parents have dedicated their lives to the service of others, having
contributed about fifty years doing volunteer work. I am truly blessed to have such incredible role
models, not for what they have done in their lives, but for modeling unconditional love and
acceptance to those around them.
I am moved and inspired by many people, but none as much as Victor Frankl. Just when I feel that
I am starting to lose my equilibrium, I grab “Man’s search for meaning” to get me on track again,
and remind myself of the following:
“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change
ourselves”. V.E. Frankl.
Teresa da Silva
Training Department
Hi LifeLine Family
It is so exciting for me these day at LifeLine Pretoria is to see most of the probationers successfully
completing their probation. After putting in all the effort and dedication during probation, and now with
all the recommendations about their readiness from our experienced counsellors who have ben guiding
them during probation, they are now able to go off probation.
During this month, there are three more probationers who went off probation - congratulations to Dineo
Mahlokwane, Steve Veldhuis and Alphonsinah Vilakazi, as they are now volunteer counsellors. During
their probation they have come in regularly for their duties and also observed face to face sessions, and
attended the ongoing training sessions. It was not easy to achieve, sometimes you would come for your
duty and no calls will come through, but still you persevered, congratulations!
To the probationers who are still on probation, do not give up. Opportunities will come for you to better
your skills and knowledge.
In the middle of the March 2015, we completed our Personal Growth Course, the weekday morning
course and the Saturday course, which were both successful. I am so glad that most of the participants
will be continuing to the Lay Counselling Skills Course. I trust that they will also enjoy the Lay
Counselling Skills course and consider being volunteers, especially those who have not yet considered it.
Here are some of the extracts from course participants’ evaluation forms:
1. “All the course content is relevant and applicable. One of the best personal Growth Courses I have
ever done, will recommend it with enthusiasm.”
2. ”The part I enjoyed the most was the conflict because I learnt a lot about myself and how to deal with
circumstances appropriately.”
3. “The most important thing I have learned in the course is acceptance of self, to let go of control and
to always look forward to the next day and its experiences.”
4. ”The collage made me feel motivated in when I talked about my life, my goals, etc.”
The total number of participants from both courses was thirty five.
Once again I want to express my appreciation to all the volunteers who facilitated at the courses.
Without your efforts and dedication, these courses would have never been a success. Thank you and
let’s keep up the good work.
On the 16 March 2015, the rape team, including the community centre administrators, had a rape
training workshop, which was presented the rape team leader Dawn Mosdell. The training was a great
success; there were ten attendees.
Upcoming Trainings:
Ongoing Training on Trauma and Trauma Counselling – 22 April 2015 – will be presented by Willem
Stiglingh (see the advert below).
Take care
Agnes Semono
National Visit to our Pretoria Office
On the 25 of March 2015 we welcomed Nombulelo Mabombo, the National Director of LifeLine
South Africa, and her secretary Cindy for a visit to our Watermeyer Centre to see our premises
and to meet our staff, Agnes and Lucky.
After a short Gautrain ride from Johannesburg, I collected them, and then it was just a short car
trip to our offices. They were expecting a small two room place and were amazed at our set-up
and what we have accomplished. Dineo and Jenny were busy doing duty in the Crisis room, Faith
was answering calls in the reception, Agnes and Lucky were busy in their office. It was a hive of
activity. Cindy fell in love with our new Counselling room and asked when she could move in, it is
so peaceful and you automatically relax and feel calm as you enter the rooms.
Nombulelo congratulated us on all our hard work and said we must continue to strive to keep all
our offices open in order to help each and every individual that comes to us for assistance.
After a delicious tea/coffee and eats we headed back to the Gautrain. This is the first of many
future visits and hopefully they will meet more of our volunteers and the new Director, as well as
going to our outreach centres, so they can get a complete picture of LifeLine Pretoria.
Thank you
Sonya Rayne
Counselling tips from Rozanne
#1 I often suggest to clients who have experienced any kind of trauma to do one
nice thing for themselves a week: meet a supportive friend for coffee, put flowers
in the house, paint your nails, go for a walk - anything that allows them to feel good
about themselves again. Trauma of any kind is a violation of the whole being of a
person. This act of self-kindness gives the client a feeling of worth again and
allows them a sense of control - the very thing they lost when they experienced the
trauma.
Talking about our Gala Dinner, see the poster on the next page.
Make your booking now while there is still places available.