Ubuntu Now and The South Africa Project team up with TVEP

Ubuntu Now, a nonprofit organization whose current efforts are focused in South Africa, will partner with the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Program (TVEP).

[USPRwire, Wed Mar 03 2010] Ubuntu Now, a nonprofit organization whose current efforts are focused in South Africa, will partner with the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Program (TVEP). TVEP raises awareness for social issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in South Africa by building a supportive, educational, and healing environment for the victims of rape, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence and child abuse.

“TVEP's foundation and aspirations align perfectly with our own. We are delighted to have forged this partnership and look forward to supporting TVEP in its efforts,” said Klaus Holzapfel, President of Ubuntu Now.

TVEP's mission is to generate an attitude of zero tolerance towards all forms of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and AIDS stigmatization in the Thulamela Municipality. The program employs some 30 staff and 46 local volunteer workers. International organizations like Voluntary Service Overseas and the US Peace Corps provide further resource volunteers who aid the expansion of the program's in-house capacity.

TVEP and Ubuntu Now's South Africa Project will join forces to help prevent rape and domestic violence through the promotion of gender equality among boys and young men. Additionally, the organization offers psychological support to victims of rape and domestic violence, including those who have contracted HIV/AIDS as a result of these crimes. TVEP and the South Africa Project will complement existing partner the Sonke Gender Justice and their 'One Man Can' initiative which places its attention on male education and rape prevention.

TVEP stems from a 1997 One Stop Trauma initiative launched through the collaboration of the local Thohoyandou Community Policing Forum and national South African Police Service (SAPS) law enforcement. Since its inception in 2001, the One Stop Trauma has assisted over 40 rape and 80 domestic violence survivors each month. In 2002, VEC was registered as the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Trust. The organization focuses on the municipality of Thohoyandou in South Africa's Limpopo province.

ABOUT UBUNTU NOW: Ubuntu Now, a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, supports programs to facilitate healing for victims of trauma and violence, create opportunities for the underprivileged and support other social causes providing stability to our world. Ubuntu Now strives to act in the spirit of Ubuntu as defined by Desmond Tutu, Nobel Prize Laureate. For more information,
visit http://ubuntunow.org.

ABOUT THE SOUTH AFRICA PROJECT: The current focus of Ubuntu Now, The South Africa Project provides stability by curbing violence through rape prevention programs, supporting the healing of rape victims and orphans, and assists in the creation of economic opportunities for the underprivileged. Partners include the Sonke Gender Justice “One Man Can” Program and the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Program (TVEP). For more information, visit http://southafricaproject.org.
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