RAPCAN Staff

Christina Nomdo

Executive Director

Christina Nomdo has a MA in gender studies from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and has worked in the children’s sector for more than 15 years. She is an experienced manager, researcher and trainer. Her areas of specialisation include budget analysis from a child rights perspective, child participation and gendered networks.

 

Anthea Nefdt

Operations Manager

Anthea joined RAPCAN in August 2009 as our Operations Manager.

 

Moefeeda Salie-Kagee

Programme Manager: Child Protection and Support Services Programme

Moefeeda joined RAPCAN in March 2003. Moefeeda is married with two children. She completed her BA Social Work degree at the University of the Western Cape in 1996 after which she worked in the UK for two years.

On her return to South Africa in 1999 she joined NICRO's Victim Support and later Diversion teams. She is a firm advocate of victim empowerment and believes that education is the key to stopping abuse.

 

Sam Waterhouse

Programme Manager: Advocacy Programme

Samantha Waterhouse (AKA Sam) is responsible for coordinating RAPCAN advocacy activities in the area of policy and legislative reform as well as broad scale activities aimed at social reform regarding the realization of children's rights and the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

Sam is concerned with ensuring appropriate and integrated state policy and legislation is in place and that programmes targeted at children's rights and the prevention of child abuse and neglect are appropriately resourced by government. She also focus's on the standard of services provided to children by the state - particularly with regard to child protection and the response of family and community members as well as local and national media to children who have been violated.

Prior to working at RAPCAN, she was employed as the Advocacy Coordinator at Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust, where she was responsible for advocacy on policy and legislative reform, training of criminal justice system members and court preparation of adolescent and adult witnesses. She has volunteered as a lay counselor of rape survivors and as a community facilitator on issues of gender and sexual violence. She is a qualified photographer.

 

Eugene Patientia

Resources Co-ordinator

Eugene attended the University of Cape Town where he completed a BA in English and History. Thereafter he completed a HDE diploma in Education and a diploma in Information Science. After periods of teaching and working in a company library, he started working at RAPCAN in 1994 as the Information Officer.

He is responsible for the maintenance of the resource centre, the dissemination of child abuse information resources to our client base as well as Information Technology support and computer troubleshooting. In addition, Eugene is an invaluable resource in materials design, web design and DTP.

 

Rene April

Finance and Administration Manager

Rene has been working in finance for over ten years. She believes her honesty combined with extensive accounting knowledge and flair for figures have enabled her to be successful within the work environment. The thought of helping to prevent child abuse is of great importance and interest to her as she is a single parent to a beautiful teenage son.

 

Milly Pekeur

Community Based Crime Prevention: CAP Project Manager

Milly started working for RAPCAN in March 2003 as the Parow and Atlantis Sexual Offences Courts Co-ordinator. She left Cape Town in November 2005 to join her husband in Pretoria and returned in November 2007. She is currently employed as the Project Manager for the new Community Based Crime Prevention Project called Children are Precious (CAP) in the Greater Lavender Hill Area.

She has two young children, a boy and a girl.

 

Tantaswa Gubevu

Child Witness Project Co-ordinator

Tantaswa joined RAPCAN in September 2004 and is based at Khayelitsha and Wynberg Courts. Tantaswa has a Diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery and a BA Social Work from the University of the Western Cape, completed in 1992.

She started her career as a Social Worker at Child Welfare East London in May 1993, after which she had a five year tenure with the Truth & Reconciliation Commission in the Eastern Cape, from 1996 until 2001. She worked at Transtel Bellville as an Employee Assistance Programme practitioner.

Thereafter she joined the Grail AIDS Response programme, working as a Project Co-ordinator for the Care for Caregivers programme and doing fundraising for the organisation. In her work with people she is guided by the principle of social justice.

 

Amanda Adams

Child Witness Project Co-ordinator

Amanda joined RAPCAN in 2009 and is based at Atlantis and Cape Town courts.

 

Arina Fourie

Case Manager CAP Project

Arina joined RAPCAN in 2008 as a co-ordinator of the Child Witness Project. In 2009 Arina became the Case Manager for the CAP (Children are Precious) therapeutic project in the Lavender Hill area. She has a degree in Social Science (Social Work) and a masters degree in Social Science (Playtherapy). She is currently doing her Doctorate in the field of Family and Child therapy (Playtherapy). Her dissertation is on family play therapy and the sexually abused child.

 

Wilma Jantjies-Mitchell

School Liaison Officer CAP Project

Wilma is one of RAPCAN's Afrikaans-speaking trainers- she works with community groups and school children. She founded the Open Door Project in Ocean View and provided training for Nonceba Centre staff in Khayalitsha. She has been working in the child abuse field for ten years and is a mother of two who enjoys working with people.

 

Shane Lentoor

Community Liaison Officer CAP Project

Shane joined RAPCAN in August 2009 and performs community liaison for the Children are Precious (CAP) project working in the Lavender Hill area.

 

Vuyiswa Sidyiyo

Trainer

Vuyiswa is a married mom of two girls. She taught for 13 years and has worked very closely with her circuit manager in promoting diversity related events in schools in Guguletu and M/Plain. She won prizes for her school for being a dedicated participant in organizing cultural and environmental events in Guguletu.

She was a governing body member and chairperson of both the fundraising and entertainment committees. Vuyiswa furthered her studies and obtained a B.A. degree from UWC in 1999 and an HR Management Diploma from Damelin in 2000. She started working at RAPCAN in April 2005 as a Trainer and is fascinated by all the challenges.

 

Fairouz Nagia-Luddy

Research and Advocacy Officer

Fairouz joined RAPCAN in November 2008. She holds an MPhil Degree in Public Policy from the University of Cape Town. She is currently doing an LLB Degree at the University of the Western Cape and is a passionate advocate for women’s and children’s rights. Her career started as the Ombuds Officer in the City Ombudsman’s Office for the City of Cape Town, focussing on the promotion of administrative justice and the socio-economic rights of Cape Town’s inhabitants. Her career as a women’s rights advocate started at the Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP) as the Project Coordinator for the Domestic Violence Project. Working with women, government institutions, community organisations and the youth, her interest in the rights of women, children and the youth to a violence-free society continues to shape her work.

Fairouz has a particular interest in advocating against the cultural, social and structural violence that inhibits the development of women and children, and hopes to continue being a part of the movement to generate a gender-just and equal society, that nurtures and supports the growth of all people.

 

Nondwe Miki

Personal Assistant to Executive Director

After completing her Matric, Nondwe did a Secretarial course and Public Relations with Damelin. She started working with NGOs in 1987, working for IDASA as a Regional Secretary.

After working for 6 years for IDASA, she joined Trust for Community Outreach & Education in East London as an Administrator. In 1997 the Office moved to Cape Town and she worked as Office Manager. Her hobbies are reading and cooking.

 

Merle Swartz

Administrator CAP Project

Merle has worked as an administrator in the corporate sector for the past ten years. She has passion and drive to contribute in a meaningful manner to our community. This need has steered her to RAPCAN which she joined in September 2006. Filled with energy and zest for life, Merle endeavours to expand her knowledge and serve the community and our children.

 

Roslyn Domingo

CWP Programme Assistant

Roslyn relocated from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town at the beginning of 2000 in search of some new challenges to pursue. She has worked as a Secretary/Receptionist for various companies for over nine years. She started working at RAPCAN in August 2000 and has found it very interesting since she enjoys working with people and understanding individuals. RAPCAN has given me the true knowledge of child abuse and neglect and what we can do to make a difference in other people lives.

 

Mercia Jales

Office Assistant

Mercia came to RAPCAN in 1998 after 30 years in the clothing industry, where she worked as a machinist. After being retrenched, Mercia spent two years as a home executive, but found this really boring. She came to RAPCAN because doing something different appealed to her. She enjoys the challenge of ensuring that we all have enough coffee and milk, and the clerical work that she does which oils the wheels. She has three children and three grand-daughters.