Annesta grips the reins
- Petro Kotzé
Lowvelder 5 March 2007
NELSPRUIT - One of the most familiar faces in the Lowveld, GRIP founder and CEO Ms Barbara Kenyon, has recently left her post at this well-known and respected NGO.
Kenyon, who was instrumental in founding the Greater Rape Interven-tion Programme in March of 2002, will apparently be taking a three-month sabbatical, before returning as a member of the board of trustees. During her years a GRIP chief executive officer (CEO) Kenyon has received various awards, including the Melvin-Jones Fellowship international award for citizen of the year, the Clarins/Fair Lady most dynamisante woman award and shared the Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (LCBT) leadership award with Dr Thys van Mollendorff.
Kenyon’s position has been taken over by 28-year-old Ms Annésta Hofer, originally from Klerksdorp in North West. Hofer moved to the Lowveld about a year ago with her husband and small daughter to take over the GRIP reins. She completed her honours degree in social work at the University of Potchefstroom before working at the SAVF in Standerton, specifically in the areas of child molestation and neglect.
Here Hofer also assisted with court cases and at the crisis centre. She was later promoted to manager of the crisis centre and welfare offices in Standerton, before beco-ming the manager of a children’s home in Volksrust. She says she has much experience in particular in the area of mental health. She will be focusing on extending the organisation’s reach beyond the Lowveld to the whole of Mpuma-langa, and to specialise more in cases of rape, domestic violence and HIV/Aids-related cases.
"I want to focus even more on high quality service for survivors and think that having a well-oiled team to work with to reach these goals, are very important." Hofer also wants to keep focusing on the importance of relationships between GRIP and all stakeholders and departments. The new CEO added that she was excited to have Kenyon back on the board of trustees, "So that we can learn more from her in the future."
GRIP business manager, Ms Sanette Mattheus added that Kenyon’s sub-stantial legacy was the difference she had made in the lives of the many individuals she had helped.
