NELSON MANDELA DAY: EMBASSY PARTNERS WITH FEM ORGANIZATION

The South African Mission in Lisbon, Portugal, celebrated International Nelson Mandela Day by partnering with the organization, FEM (Feministas em Movimento / Feminists in Action), which runs the Lisboa+Igualdade (Lisbon+Equality) project, aimed at providing support to victims of domestic violence, both women and men. 

The partnership worked on collecting donations of required items (non-perishable food, hygiene products, used and new clothing, and homeware) and in volunteering staff to organize the large space where the donated items are stored at the organization’s facilities. 

The Mission was able to collect a significant number of donated items, including a donation of hygiene products from a South African-owned shop in northern Portugal called Feito ao Bife.  These items are very useful to the organization as the latter provides support for the first 72 hours after the victims of domestic violence leave their homes.  They often leave with very little in terms of personal belongings and have children in their care.

Of equal importance was the time volunteered by 11 staff members, who on 18 July 2025, helped organize the room where all the donations are stored.  This space was in significant disarray, with items needing to be sorted by size, gender and season.  The organization’s objective was that the space should look like a “charity shop”, although the items are donated and not sold.  The end result was a much more organized space, where people can more easily see and choose what is available for donation.  The organization was particularly pleased with the assistance the Embassy provided as this was a long-awaited project and they had lacked the manpower to carry it out. 

The visit to FEM also provided a greater understanding of the work carried out by the organisation.  Besides running a helpline, in 2024 it supported over 1000 victims of domestic violence.  Its staff also pay visits to schools to sensitise young people to the broader problem of domestic violence.  The effort was also an important team building exercise with the staff having expressed a deep satisfaction at having assisted in turning a disorganized storage space into a functional and welcoming “shop”.

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