About Us

What we do

Since 1994 DOCKDA Rural Development Agency has acted under the belief that the key to making sustainable change in rural communities is the women and men who live in those communities.

DOCKDA forms partnerships with women-led community-based organisations (CBOs) in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district of the Northern Cape and Western Cape greater Cape Peninsula to identify and meet the needs of their respective communities. 

Through these collaborative partnerships, four distinct programmes were developed:

• Women’s Leadership Programme
• Girls’ Rights to Health and Education Programme
• Gender Based Violence Programme
• Wellness Programme

Context

The Northern Cape is sparsely populated with vast distances separating towns and villages.

The northern reaches of the Northern Cape are characterized by semi-arid dune country and extreme temperatures that soar to an average 40°C (100°F) in summer and drop to 0°C in winter.

Although seemingly inhospitable, this region is home to a number of villages, some as far away as 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the nearest main town, Kuruman in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district.

Due to the geographical isolation many of these rural villages lack service delivery for basic necessities such as water, electricity and sanitation.

These forgotten about communities cope with challenges resulting from high rates of unemployment (over 50%), HIV and AIDS (27.5%) and crime.

These obstacles paired with low rates of literacy (28%), secondary education completion (20.6%) and economic growth (< 3% in 2014) lead to socio-economic issues that impact the most vulnerable portions of the population, women and children.