Keep a Child Alive

In the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, one in every four girls faces the prospect of being raped by her sixteenth birthday. Operation Bobbi Bear works on behalf of South Africa’s child victims of sexual abuse helping to minimize their risk of HIV-infection at point of rescue, ensuring their health and well-being in places of safety and bringing their perpetrators to justice. Based in Amanzimtoti, Bobbi Bear has made tremendous inroads in their community, visiting schools and holding outreach programs to educate children, caregivers and officials about the reality of child rape and HIV transmission. Their work has helped influence the dialogue about the rights of children in the courts like no other organization. Their court-approved approach, the use of a teddy bear for victims to relate the stories of their abuse, has helped save thousands of children from being victimized again by retelling their stories in court in the presence of their perpetrator.

Keep a Child Alive funds entirely the costs for Bobbi Bear to operate, but they need much more to meet the need that exists, including a home of their own large enough to be a real place of safety for the children rescued from rape, who frequently have no place to go after the rape is reported. Plans to renovate a small home recently purchased into a large space that can accommodate children after they have been rescued continue. With expanded outreach to schools throughout Durban resulting in more cases of children coming forward with reports of rape, the need for a completed “Place of Safety” grows more every day.