Paralegal Assistance

Assisting community members in accessing social support systems
The Paralegal Assistance Programme has been designed to improve access to government support for caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly and people living with compromised health and disabilities.

Why?
Paralegal Assistance is one of the most significant forms of sustainable help Tholulwazi Uzivikele can provide to mostly HIV affected orphan families. Helping families receiving government grants is a rather complicated and lengthy process. Tholulwazi Uzivikele's team of paralegals can help those applying for grants and identity documents (ID).

Assistance in applying for an ID document.

Obtaining a government grant

How?
Obtaining a government support grant is a complex process, daunting to many of the older people who inherit the burden of caring for the children of their children.  To these ‘Gogo’s’ this process is impossible. Tholulwazi Uzivikele’s Paralegal Assistance programme assists them during the lengthy and complex process of obtaining government grants. The team of paralegals also assists community members with financial support for ID photo's and transport for those who have no other means to access the service.  The paralegals conclude the application process by following up with the Department of Home Affairs, monitoring the time it takes to finalise grant allocation.

Emergency food Relief

Paralegal Assistance Programme also selects high need families, such as child-headed households, for Emergency Food Relief. The food parcels that are provided have been compiled in conjunction with a dietician from the Manguzi Hospital, ensuring a balanced and nutritional composition.  However, this assistance is not regarded as a sustainable solution to food security. This activity is therefore always combined with the Paralegal Assistance programme, only for the time it takes for their social support grants to be awarded, which is usually between one month and a year, depending on the technical complexity of the application.

Community workshops

Apart from assisting eligible community members in their application process towards obtaining government support grants, another aim of the Paralegal Assistance programme is to educate community members on civil rights, gender equality, government support grants and Batho Pele.