Printacom donates printers, consumables to three worthy causes

Printacom, sole provider of Oki laser printers in SA, has reaffirmed its commitment to the upliftment of South Africa`s communities by adding three new organisations to the list of charitable and worthy causes it supports.

Neil Rom, managing director of Printacom, says the three entities chosen comprise Kids` Haven, RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) and the Catholic Women`s League Adoption Programme.

"All three of these causes have illustrated a clear commitment to making South Africa a better place and as such, we feel it only fitting to support their endeavours wholeheartedly," he explains.

"We hope the donation to these entities of an Oki laser printer and sufficient consumables for a year`s operation will make a tangible difference in each organisation`s day-to-day operations and achieve vital cost savings that can be used for the propagation of each cause`s goals.

"We also saw value in spreading our investments, thereby effecting a wider reaching impact on the various communities," Rom says.

This is not Printacom`s first foray into community upliftment. "This latest set of donations follows a similar set of donations made earlier this year, to the Teddy Bear Clinic, Operation Bobbi Bear and WARMTH (War Against Malnutrition, Tuberculosis and Hunger)," Rom says.

The first of Printacom`s chosen causes, namely Kids` Haven, offers a very structured approach to the rehabilitation of street children.

An outreach team makes initial contact with children on the street and others at risk and encourages them to enter the shelter. Once they have taken residence, the children participate in various educational programmes and receive in-depth counselling, while the reunification team makes every effort to trace immediate or extended family and uncover the circumstances that made the child leave home.

While most children will be reunified with their families) if possible or placed into a foster family, some children will remain in long-term care at Kids` Haven.

"The donation of an Oki laser printer from Printacom will enable the processes within Kids` Haven to occur with minimum disruption, as there is currently only one printer to service the collection of all the required data of the children`s case files," says Susan Daly, Fundraising Coordinator at Kids` Haven.

"We appreciate this practical assistance and thank Printacom Technologies for this worthwhile donation," she says.

The Catholic Women`s League Adoption Programmes include a pregnancy crisis service dealing with unplanned pregnancies, promoting the `adoption option` as an alternative to abortion; counselling and support for birth mothers, including assistance with medical expenses and accommodation; information, education and preparation for adoption. They also take care of recruitment, preparation and assessment of adoptive parents, particularly for abandoned black HIV positive babies; and post-adoption counselling and workshops for all parties in the adoption triad.

"In terms of the donation of an Oki Laser printer and consumables, we would like to thank Printacom for their most welcome donation. This printer will definitely make a huge difference to the efficiency of our organisation and reduce costs, which we can then channel to our other activities," says Jill McPhail, chairman of the CWL.

RAPCAN is an organisation committed to developing child abuse prevention strategies that help combat the patterns of abuse, which affect the lives of children and adults. Among others, the organisation does this through advocacy, training of adults, informing children and developing informative literature.

"We regularly produce a wide variety of printed information for children and adults in an effort to educate them about the prevention of abuse and neglect, as well as children`s rights in our society. A substantial amount of what we print is also used by children who attend our child witness preparation and support programme, which now operates at seven local sexual offence courts in and around Cape Town," says Carol Bower, executive director at RAPCAN.

"The donation of the Oki laser printer and a year`s supply of consumables will certainly help reduce the costs that we would have had to incur in order to produce the various materials. We are truly grateful to Printacom for all it has done," Bower concludes.