By Nangamso Mabindla
15 March 2005

LIFELINE East London is celebrating 20 years of serving the needy people of the city.

The non-governmental organisation, part of Lifeline International, opened its doors to the community in 1985 and provides counselling to rape survivors, people living with Aids and HIV positive people, trauma victims and others suffering from a range of problems.

However, Lifeline does not only counsel the needy. It also trains people who are interested in helping trauma victims. Joan Marshall, the director, said the centre had trained more than 15 000 volunteers since it opened.

"We train our volunteers on communication and counselling skills; we are the leading trainer of lay counsellors," said Marshall. The organisation also did voluntary counselling and testing for interested people.

It works closely with the national department of health which assists it with training counsellors in primary health care. "We also receive funding from the health department and we are grateful for its assistance," Marshall said.

Now, the centre would like to work more closely with the municipality. "We are looking to strengthen our relationship with the city and we are collecting a database of all other NGOs that help people with various problems," said Lifeline's Daphne Xotyeni. There were 82 such organisations in Buffalo City that dealt with various social problems, ranging from HIV/Aids support to child abuse.

Looking to the future, Marshall said the centre would like to be more visible to the people as it gave assistance free of charge. "We have opened centres in other areas in East London and we are looking to expand our premises in King Williams Town," she said.

But this occasion was about celebrations and when Marshall blew out the candles on the cake, the staff and the centre's partners celebrated.