Testimonials, experiences, and advice of family and victims of crime will be posted here.
Hantie’s Story – Introduction
The seed for the Community hub initiative was planted 24 months ago, after my father, Charlie and his partner Tinkie were murdered in their house on 8 September 2015.
After this tragic incident, my heart was fixated on two critical intents. Firstly, I did not want my father and Tinkie’s murder to have been in vain, as I wanted something positive to be birthed from this tragedy. I was also advised by my mentor that I should not allow a bad story to become my story, but instead I had to go back and write a new one. So here I am.
The second intention I have is dealing with that deep dark and dreaded pit you may find yourself in which seems hopeless at times. You may feel lost, disorientated and all alone. I want to help people who find themselves in the same pit that I was in, that they are not alone and that there are ways to deal with it. The areas I would like to highlight can give direction through accessed information on what to do in which situation, how to handle being hit with tragedy, where to find help/assistance, counseling and support groups. It is pivotal in knowing which preventative measures should be put in place in order to save lives when it is so crucially needed.
Had I known these things I would like to highlight, I believe that my father and Tinkie’s life would have been spared. I cannot even begin to explain what we have been through as a family, and all the areas of our lives this heartbreak has affected. Today I live with knowing the pain, uncertainty and memory of that day will never be forgotten, but it brings me comfort in allowing my experience to be used to bring awareness to this specific topic, and the hope it can bring to those families who find themselves in similar situations.
The next thing I did was to discuss my intentions with the Senior State Advocate who handled my father and Tinkie’s murder (also the Director of Public Persecutions at Johannesburg High Court), hoping that I could gain sufficient insight in steering me to develop an informative and supportive platform in creating our first Community Website. I found that he had the same vision, and he already started the Kruin Community initiative.
So it quickly became our vision and purpose. And it is for this website to highlight significant points in which we as a community of support can better protect our families, and acquire and share the knowledge we have gained over the years of signals criminals use, and understanding the strategy and tactics they use to impose into our homes. This community website will become a working model where we can connect and strengthen our areas of communication. We are able to remain aware and focused on protecting our loved ones and homes.
Therefore the Kruin Community Website was birthed. It will be the working model and strategy we use to position this initiative, and the purpose of Kruin Community Voluntary Association is to bring the crime rate down significantly “80% drop since Feb 2016, surrounding areas crime still increased”. – Kruin Committee Co-ordinator
“The founding principle of the organisation is to rebuild and unite communities into smaller clusters within which the infrastructure is developed to such an extent that crime prevention becomes a way of living. – ” Kruin Committee Co-Ordinator
Through our efforts of creating a sustainable platform of awareness, we as a community can unite and stand together as a stronger body, other than standing alone independently. Our intentions are to know our surroundings, our neighborhood, our neighbors, being prepared, alert and knowing what to do in case a tragedy hits your home or loved ones unexpectedly. Precautionary measures are vital, and the areas which criminals targets and the tactics they use change on the weekly, therefore we need to always remain ten steps ahead at all times. Through this platform we can create a community database; share uploads with images and the modus operandi of criminal activities in the area.
We will be more effective when we all stand together. This is the first step in reaching that goal and I trust that each community member will bring their attention to successfully bringing justice through awareness to this cause.
