South Africa - As hundreds of men take to the street today to join and support the #100MenMarch to stop violence against women and children we remember those who have lost their lives at the hands of men. Reeva Steenkamp, Amanda Tweyi, Karabo Mokoena, Zolile Khumalo and most recently Chantelle Matthyssen. Sadly, they represent just a small majority of the women killed in South Africa’s frightening femicide statistics.  

According to AfricaCheck, South Africa’s femicide rate is 5 times higher than the global rate. Between April and December 2016, the police recorded a total of 14,333 murders. Of these, 1,713 were women. 

“The time has come for South Africans to speak up on behalf of each other. With emergency responders stretched thin, helping to fight these frightening statistics starts with us. If we can create a community whereby, instead of filming, walking or scrolling by we could report incidents, fast, wouldn’t that be the first step into making South Africa a safer place for all?” says Peter Matthaei, CEO of Namola, a free mobile safety app that allows South African citizens to Get Help Fast in emergency situations.  ”With Namola, ordinary citizens now have the power to get help fast in an emergency situation where they would normally not want to get involved. We no longer have the excuse to ignore cries for help,”says Matthaei.  

Dialdirect offer the following tips to report assistance with Namola on behalf of someone else:  

• Assess the urgency of the situation. Before you report an emergency, make sure the situation is genuinely urgent. Namola categorises emergencies into four types; Crime, Medical, Accidents and Fire. 
• Location, Location, Location. The most important piece of information you will need when you request assistance on behalf of someone else is their location. If you are using Namola to request assistance, they will be able to know where you are via your GPS location. If you have received a request for help and are not at the scene of the incident, ensure you have an address and/or a landmark that will help emergency responders locate the person in need of assistance. 
• Attention to detail. You may not want to get involved in the incident itself, but you should try and provide as many details of the incident as possible. 

Dialdirect Insurance also offers information on what you will need to provide if you are reporting an incident on behalf of someone else: 

• Reporting a crime. Try and get a physical description of the person committing the crime. If this is a case of abuse, try and set the scene of the crime. For example, is there a history to the crime, does the perpetrator know the victim. 
• Reporting a medical emergency. What symptoms the person in the emergency is displaying.  

“The more information one is able to provide, the better prepared the person co-ordinating the help will be to assist,” concludes  Matthaei. 

Make sure that you #GetHelpFast. Download Namola FREE.

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ISSUED BY NAMOLA.  FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT CLAIRE SHERWELL ON 0836441900 OR E-MAIL This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

56-year-old Manuela was shot nine times and killed at her home in Brackenhurst on the 13th of November 2017 by her estranged husband.

Manuela, better known as “Mannie” to most, was a daughter, sister, mother of three and grandmother.

She did not deserve to die in such a brutal manner by a man who simply “decided” it was time for her to go.

The murder accused is a prominent banker and Treasurer at the Bank of Athens - Vincenzo Pietropaolo.

He abandoned his bail application last year and while it was postponed to the 8th of March he has secured an earlier date for his bail hearing - This Monday!

On the 19th of February Pietropaolo will apply for bail.

As a community, we feel that bail should be denied and we are calling on concerned community members to sign the petition at https://www.petitions24.com/196344#form to ensure that Mr Pietropaolo remains in custody.