The SHOUT Foundation has donated R50 000 (fifty thousand Rand) to Matla a Bana, a Non Profit Organisation, which runs various projects around child victims of crime. The organisation aims to minimise the secondary abuse children suffer, when they report crimes against them.

SHOUT also donated 40 GPS navigation devices for police vehicles – which will be supplied to police officers in critical areas in KZN and the Western Cape.
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During the handover ceremony in Johannesburg, SHOUT Founders and Trustees, Danny K and Kabelo Mabelane, said: “Credit must also go to the ordinary people of South Africa, as the celebrities involved in the campaign for a safer SA are merely the activators of SHOUT.”

“This is the first in a series of donations in the fight against crime. We will continue to sustain the campaign and do much more,” they added.

Since its launch on 16 March this year, SHOUT has been working relentlessly to raise money for NGOs and other organisations which play a vital role in crime prevention and/or fighting and victim support programmes - as well as rehabilitation programmes.

Funding is raised through donations to the Foundation; the sale of SHOUT T-shirts and CDs; as well as SHOUT song downloads to cell phones.

Garmin GPS navigation devices for the SAPS

"We want the officers on the ground - and the people they protect and serve - to benefit from SHOUIT in a tangible way," the Foundation said.

SHOUT wants to ensure that the police’s response times to emergencies are not hampered due to difficulties in getting to streets and finding addresses, especially at night.

The Garmin navigation devices were handed over to the National Police Commissioner, General Bheki Cele, during a joint ceremony with Crime Line.

Crime Line awarded the Star of the Stars Award to the entire SA police service, for their dedication and hard work to ensure a safe and secure 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Matla a Bana

SHOUT’s donation to Matla a Bana will be used specifically for 'comfort packs' for young girls who have suffered at the hands of criminals.

Matla a Bana supplies detectives; units; courts; and rape clinics with comfort packs, which contain goods that will assist the child during the crisis time of reporting the crime, including the disclosure and medical examination. During the last year, this project has reached more than six thousand abused children.

“Not only do these packs focus on the immediate need of the victim, but also assist the police officers to immediately build a relationship of trust with the victim, resulting in quicker disclosures and arrests of perpetrators,” said Monique Strydom, Matla a Bana’s National Manager and Founder.

The comfort packs contain items such as underwear, deodorant, teddy bears and food.

Shout has hit the right notes

A mere four months since its launch, the numbers have shown that South Africans are firmly behind the campaign, by SA artists and celebrities, for a safer nation.

While the SHOUT single downloads to cell phones have exceeded all previous South African download records, some 124 000 fans have pledged their support for SHOUT on Facebook.

This is one of the fastest growing Facebook groups in South Africa. YouTube, meanwhile, has clocked almost 50 000 views of the video. Thousands of people have also visited the SHOUT website at www.shoutsa.com.

The SHOUT single reached number 1 on the 94.7 Highveld Stereo and 94.5 KFM Top 40 SA music charts.

Crime Line partnership

In addition to the phenomenal response to the awareness phase of this initiative, Yusuf Abramjee, Chairperson of the SHOUT Foundation and head of Crime Line, noted that there has been an enormous and positive response from the public; companies; and NGO’s: “Crime Line has noticed a major spike in the number of tip-offs received since SHOUT was launched. More feedback and information received from the public will assist in the prevention of criminal activity and increase the police’s ability to apprehend suspected criminals.”

“SHOUT is not just a short term marketing campaign, but is rather a culture with a legacy, which will become a safer way of life for all South Africans,” said Abramjee.

SHOUT Founders and Trustees, Danny K and Kabelo Mabalane, said: “We are delighted that we are now able to start making a tangible difference in creating a safer South Africa through the first of a series of allocations.”