Women for Peace Western Cape

Women for Peace was founded with a clear focus: to support disadvantaged, unemployed women and youth in the Western Cape — particularly in Mfuleni, one of Cape Town's larger Cape Flats townships. Their work is grounded in the Nobantu Centre, a community hub that has grown to include a soup kitchen, afterschool programme, arts and crafts income-generation project, and a food garden. The organisation has been supported for over 30 years by the German partner organisation Förderverein Khayelitsha, through which international donations are channelled tax-deductibly.

Their programmes address the layered conditions that make women and children in communities like Mfuleni most vulnerable to GBV: poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, lack of safe spaces for children, and exposure to gangs and substance abuse.

What They Offer Women, Children, and the Mfuleni Community

Soup Kitchen — Free Daily Meals for the Community Originally established in 2017 to provide one free hot meal a day to community members, the soup kitchen expanded during COVID-19 to serve the entire Mfuleni community. Many people lost livelihoods during lockdown and could no longer feed their families — the soup kitchen became a lifeline. The kitchen continues to serve anyone who needs a meal, with running costs covered by donors.

Afterschool Programme — Safety and Supervision for 250+ Children Women for Peace's afterschool programme is registered for 250 children annually, with parents continuing to enrol their children each year because of high community risk: child abuse, drug and alcohol exposure, domestic violence, gangsterism, and other forms of negative peer pressure. While parents are at work, the afterschool programme provides full-time supervision, a safe physical environment, and structured activities — keeping children off the streets and out of harm's way during the highest-risk hours of the day.

Arts and Craft Programme The Arts and Craft Programme brings creative women and youth together to share skills, develop talents, and produce handcrafted items that generate income for participants and for the Nobantu Centre. Creative work builds confidence, community, and economic independence — all of which are protective against GBV.

Food Garden A community food garden at the Nobantu Centre supplements meals and builds practical skills in food production — contributing to food security and offering another form of meaningful, community-building activity.

Women for Peace operates in Mfuleni, Cape Town. To support their work, donate through their German partner organisation at www.khayelitsha.de/en/contact, where South African donations are also gratefully received. Visit women-for-peace.net for more information.