Fifteen artists from New York took to the stage to the delight of the spectators. They offered a live repertoire of songs from different well known plays amongst them, “The Lion King”, “Mama Mia and “Rent”. Six actors from the Johannesburg “Lion King” production joined the spectacle unexpectedly which made the experience even more amazing and worth-seeing.

Twenty four tickets were donated for “Mother of Peace” and “BobbiBear” NPOs. Those who attended agreed that it was a performance characterized by amazing voices, sensitivity and dreams of a brighter future for all. After the performance the teenagers and children had the unique opportunity to meet the artists, sing-a-song along with them and take precious autographs home. This experience meant an awful lot for these young spectators who felt as special as they really are. These pictures prove that this was a night they will remember for ever and a dream-come true.

Pictures to follow…

Rough Aunties | Sundance Festival 2009

This film can be very hard to watch due to it’s unwavering and unbiased look into such tough subject matter, but it definitely should be seen.  While I wasn’t able to watch all of the World Cinema Competition titles during my short time in Park City, I can say that it doesn’t surprise me that ROUGH AUNTIES won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize.

Insert - Rough Aunties Review by AJ SCHNACK

Pictures still to come…

The intro gave me shivers, I think it would be a good thing to include that picture on the site? What do you guys think?

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Go OBB…

Under the apartheid regime the welfare system in South Africa was designed to accommodate and look after a small sector of privileged society. In 1994 when our constitution demanded care for all people in South Africa, the welfare structure had to stretch. Due to the breakdown of the family unit in Africa as well as violence, war and HIV/AIDS, we have found the welfare system broken and facing challenges no structure could cope with. We find children placed anywhere and this very often results in further abuse to the children. Children are left in places of safety with little or no resources and their needs and rights painfully absent.

The Honor programme has been initiated to ensure the children Bobbi Bear has put into places of safety are indeed being cared for and loved. That children are being visited regularly by the Bobbi Bear Honor programme manager to assess their very safety, to ensure they are cared for, to ensure they are in a school, to ensure they are not receiving further trauma and to ensure they are receiving ongoing counselling and treatment.

The Honor Programme will change that. The children will know they can call us at any time of day and night. The children will know they can tell us if they are being hurt or abused. The children will know they will be visited. The children will know that we  make sure their needs are met.

We at Bobbi Bear with our limited resources wish to be part of the solution for these children and thus we present to you Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme

2. Programme Aim

The aims of the Bobbi Bear Child Honor Programme are as follows:

• To ensure the children know they are individuals and are treated as such.
• To ensure the children know they have a voice ready to speak out for them in any situation.
• To ensure there is no secondary abuse.
• To ensure children’s rights are met.
• To ensure children’s needs are met mentally, physically and spiritually.

3.  Programme Objectives

The objectives of the Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme are as follows:

• To promote a caring attitude amongst children.
• To highlight the hardships and difficulties that children face in today’s society as a result of poverty, HIV/AIDS and violence.
• To decrease the amount of secondary abuse and violence that children are subject to in places of safety.
• To foster good working partnerships between Operation Bobbi Bear and places of safety.
• To create awareness and promote the work and services of Operation Bobbi Bear.

4. Expected Outcomes

The successful implementation of the Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme is expected to yield the following outcomes:

• Increased awareness that there is somebody that will always be there to help and Honor the Childs needs.
• A more respectful and caring attitude being shown between children and a decrease in incidents of abuse and victimisation between children.
• Improved co-operation and commitment from children’s homes and foster families with regards to children’s safety and the reporting of sexual abuse.
• A decrease in the amount of secondary abuse cases in children’s homes.

5. Programme Time Frame

The Operation Bobbi Bear Honor Programme will be run on an annual basis. The Programme will be implemented as soon as funding is secured

6. Geographical Areas of Operation

Initially, the programme will be implemented in the Kwa-Zulu Natal area. As more funding and resources are secured, the programme will expand to other areas with the long-term goal being to eventually run the programme on a provincial and national level. The programme will be implemented in urban, peri-urban and rural areas on the Durban South Coast.

7. Programme Monitoring & Evaluation

The programme will be monitored closely be the project manager, Michelle Jacobs with quarterly reports being produced on the progress of each child. A final evaluation and report will be submitted on an annual basis.

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We will update these pictures as soon as we get more…

The event had a lot of A-Listers including Alicia Keys (Performed as well as a OBB funder), Justin Timberlake, Queen Latifah and Jack White to name a few.

A big thanks to Leigh Blake who is the driving force behind KCA and who is directly responsible for Jackie’s honoring, KCA is now covering all of OBB’s operational costs which in turn allows for Operation BobbiBear to focus on the children and not raising funds to keep OBB operational.

We have managed to collect some photos of the event, please click here to see them (or the image)!

Jackie Branfield giving her speach

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Click here to see what projects we are currently running…

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