About Us

Community Cohesion

Community Cohesion is a registered NPC (Non-Profit Company). Our Head Office is in Hout Bay and we currently operate in Hout Bay, Ocean View, Masiphumelele, Fish Hoek, Simonstown, Drakenstein (Thuthuzela Care Centre Paarl), Victoria Hospital Forensic Unit Catchment area and Woodstock.

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Small / Big Change

Community Cohesion is a registered NPC (Non-Profit Company). Our Head Office is in Hout Bay and we currently operate in Hout Bay, Ocean View, Masiphumele, Fish Hoek, Simonstown and Woodstock.

Our guiding principle is: Not for, but with. We do not do anything for our clients; we inform them as to their rights and responsibilities and walk the path with them to claiming those rights, ultimately enabling them to take ownership of their lives.

We have a Mission to provide Rights- Based Psycho-Social support to nurture actively engaged citizens to enable them to break the cycles of violence prevalent in our society.

We achieve this through:

  • Rights Based Therapeutic Social Work and Specialised Counselling
  • One on one crisis containment at the point of trauma.
  • Practical advice and assistance in accessing relevant referral agency services
  • Therapeutic Group work
  • Education and Psycho-Social workshops in the communities we serve

We have a Vision of a South Africa where all our citizens are afforded access to quality, Rights-Based Therapeutic social work and psycho-social services, so that they are able to realise their potential, irrespective of their socio-economic situation.

Where we realise the emotional impact of our violent past and present, and make use of services available to start to deal with the impact of this violence.

To increase resilience in high risk communities through therapeutic intervention with adult victims of crime and violence and their family members/ significant others – individual/couple/family therapeutic groups (services rendered by social worker)

A victim of crime refers to any person who requests assistance from a service centre following direct or indirect victimisation.

Indirect victimisation includes witnesses to a crime as well as the direct victim’s family or friends who may be negatively impacted by the crime, be it current or historic.

Community Cohesion has been chosen as a LEADSA Primedia NGO partner for the next six months…
“You were recognized for your invaluable contribution and selflessness in all the community up-liftment and rehabilitation projects you run.”

Community Cohesion in 95s

Who we are

Registered NPC.

Victim Empowerment Specialists.

Funded in part by the WCPG DSD, as a mandated Service Provider, VEP Directorate.

Acknowledged and awarded by National government as the Top Victim Empowerment NGO for Direct Services to victims of violence and crime in the Western Cape.

What We Do?

Our Story

Community Cohesion was a small idea in 2012.  At the time I was volunteering at the Hout Bay SAPS in the Victim Support Centre.  Here, we provided, and still do provide, crisis containment for victims of violence and crime.  At that time, I was working in television as a documentary producer and this was my volunteer commitment.  It began to bother me, that despite the absolute value of being there for another human being in their moment of crisis, victims needed and deserved more than what we could offer.

Being acutely aware of the history of our country; the violence of the past and the impact of that violence on our present, and my own upbringing in a family where we always tried to act consciously to assist others, I called my own bluff, left behind my career and embarked on an ambitious, frustrating, deeply emotional and ultimately very, very rewarding journey of establishing and growing an organisation that specialises in Victim Empowerment.

In 2012, it was me and my idea…refining, defining, learning from mistakes, thinking bigger and accepting a challenge from the Department of Social Development Victim Empowerment Directorate to test the model in Ocean View, Masiphumelele, Red Hill and Hout Bay. By 2014, I had employed 3 colleagues. I had also started another programme, One School at a Time, funded by Swiss Re, who saw the value of psycho-social support in our schools.

Now, in 2022, we have been acknowledged by National Government as the Top Victim Empowerment Programme in the Western Cape for direct services to victims of violence and crime.  We are at our third school in the One School at a Time Programme.  We are at 2 Thuthuzela Care Centres.  We have a specialised Men’s Intervention Programme.  We have a Social Crime Prevention Programme.  We have a GBV/DV Place of Safety.  Cohesion now employs 24 professionals.  We now have a 360 approach to Violence and Crime.

In this time, we have been there for over 12500 families in their time of crisis. 

It is an absolute privilege to be able to provide this service to everyone who calls our country their home, to work every day with a team of inspiring and dedicated professionals, with colleagues who remind each other why we all do what we do when it gets really hard and you have heard one story too many that day.

I see supporting Community Cohesion, in any way, not as charitable giving but rather as investing in the future of our country.  Our work continues to address the historical trauma’s of our past and attempts to break the cycle of inter-generational violence.  My beloved South Africa, who has had such a painful past but who is growing into her maturity; we have an ongoing role to play in her growth, and it is something I wake up to do every day with pride and optimism.

Bronwyn Moore

Founder Director

Counselling

Individual sessions to address current and past trauma.

Educational Workshops

Rights Based Educational Workshops for social cohesion.

Therapeutic Group Work

Emotional Resilience Building in a group setting.

Practical Assistance

Help with accessing Protection and Intimidation orders, and help at the Court.

Our Team

Angeline Nyamunetsa

Head of Therapeutic Social Work. Cohesion Social Work Supervisor.

Hlalanathi Situ

Therapeutic Social Worker. Head of SW at the Masiphumelele Office

Somila Nojilana

Therapeutic Social Worker. Head of SW at the Hout Bay Office

Shameez Kafaar

Social Auxilliary Worker. Education Workshop Practitioner for Hout Bay Office. OHS and CV-19 compliance officer.

Kashiefa Martin

Social Auxilliary Worker. Education Workshop Practitioner for Ocean View Office

Nolu Mpengesi

Social Auxilliary Worker. Education Workshop Practitioner for Masiphumelele.

Vivienne Buyeye

Social Auxilliary Worker at the Thuthuzela Care Centre in Paarl (NPA partnership).

Gladys Senyani

Social Auxilliary Worker at the Thuthuzela Care Centre in Paarl (NPA partnership).

She-Earl Onverwacht

  Social Auxilliary Worker at the Thuthuzela Care Centre in Paarl (NPA partnership)

Xolelani Magqazolo

Therapeutic Social  Worker Men’s intervention.

Xola Fayo

Therapeutic Social Worker. Head of SW at the Oceanview Office

Janelle Destroo

Therapeutic social worker and head of social work, Paarl TCC

Luvuyo Teko

Therapeutic Social worker. Head of Men’s Intervention Programme

Jemma Mc Callum

Therapeutic counsellor: One School at a Time

Miguel De Abreu

Therapeutic counsellor: One School at a Time.

Gail April

Therapeutic Social worker. Aalwyn place of safety.

Chantell Jacobs

Social Auxiliary worker. Aalwyn place of safety.

Charmaine Drysdale

Housemother Aalwyn place of safety.

Elsa Adams

Housemother Aalwyn place of safety.

Maria Fortuin

Housemother Aalwyn place of safety.

Elize Britz

Social Auxilliary Worker
Social crime prevention programme

Andrea Turner

Registered Psychological Counsellor.  Victim Assistance Officers at Victoria Hospital Forensic Unit.

Margot Martherus

Board Member

Karen Kruger

Board Member

Kabelo Kale

Board Member

Bronwyn Moore

Founder and Director of programmes.

Melodie Diamond

Board Member

Joseph Jansen

Board Chairperson. Educational support for the One School at a Time Programme.
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Focus topics for Educational Workshops
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Clients per month in Hout Bay, Ocean View, Masiphumelele, Red Hill, Fish Hoek, Simonstown, Drakenstein (Thuthuzela Care Centre Paarl), Victoria Hospital Forensic Unit Catchment area and surrounds.
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Professional Staff
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Clients assisted in Houtbay Fire in one month
stay In Touch

In the News

A collection of what is being said by us and about us.

24 Nov

Somila

I chose to work for Community Cohesion because of […]

24 Nov

Gail

I work at Community Cohesion for their guiding principle, […]

24 Nov

Gladys

I work to Empower of GBV and Sexual Assault […]