Government needs to throw a life line to NGOs
It is rather disturbing when you read that a suicide hotline is facing shutdown because of a lack of funding.
After all, we live in very tough times, so more than ever we are going to need a suicide hotline!
No, I am not being flippant, but the reality is life is rough in South Africa, and people are really suffering emotionally and mentally.
I am referring to the recent news that the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag), which runs as a NGO, is facing a crisis of its own of not being unable to sustain its hotline.
Sadag’s telephone bill is around R60 000 a month, considering it receives about 400 calls a day.
I don’t know what is more disturbing – the fact that 400 calls are received a day, or that one day in the future no one will be on the other end to receive one of these calls.
Fortunately, the dire plea for assistance was for now answered by Discovery, which donated a R1-million to the cause, which will help Sadag keep its doors open for at least another year.
So yes, the solution is only temporary, which is also depressing.
Sadag, of course, had other plans in place if funding didn’t come through, such as reducing its operating hours or changing to a paid line by the end of March.
Again, the thought of someone who is suffering a crisis having to pay to speak someone is also disheartening. A lot of people who phone probably do not even have money to pay for anything!
Another service Sadag might have to turn down in the future is visiting schools when a pupil has committed or attempted to commit suicide.
How tragic will that be if we cannot even help our youth! And learners are under enormous pressure to perform academically to secure some sort of future.
And why is the NGO facing such desperate times? Well you have guessed right – government has once again failed its people!
You see, back in 1994 when Sadag opened its door, then health minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma ensured that the organisation was kept funded by the government.
But after Dlamini-Zuma left the position, Sadag was forced to support itself without assistance from the government and has so far managed to to keep the crisis centre running on private donations.
Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, also voiced this concern over the hotline’s plight.
He himself visited Sadag’s offices in Rivonia and was most impressed by the good work done by volunteers who answer calls from people at a crisis point in their lives.
I lay all the dirty blame for Sadag’s plight and the cold reality that people, including desperate learners, will not be supported in times of a crisis at the feet of the government.
Here is a news flash – people are going through a crisis because it is a crisis created by the government.
Unemployment, for example, remains rife and potential job opportunities slim for many, so naturally there is a lot of depression on the streets.
It is up to our government to fund this hotline. It created the mess and because they are unable to deal with the mess at least they have to take ownership of its repercussions.
Sadag’s struggle to survive is just another case of an NGO that is doing the work of the government yet is failing to perform such a service because the government turns a blind eye.
It is the same with other NGOs such as Child Welfare and the SPCA.
It is the government’s priority to help these NGOs, which are trying to help people through rough times as a result of the government’s failure to help its people.
I’m also referring to another NGO – Life Line East Rand – which is also desperately looking for funding and volunteers.
If I was a government official I would be ashamed to read of the plight of such NGOs, such as Life Line and Sadag, that are trying to make a difference in a time when the citizens are being thrown to the wolves.
I am also ashamed that a private company such as Discovery has had to come the rescue instead of the government.
We live in depressing times, this is the reality, so at least the government can throw a life line to all these worthy NGOs that provide a valuable service to those who have had enough of failed promises and failed plans.
