Five winter nights in a tent, ration packs and PT: This is how AfriForum toughens its specialist neighbourhood watch members during training
8 July 2024
AfriForum’s twelfth proto team training course, in which specialised safety training is offered to a select group of members of the organisation’s neighbourhood watches, has just been completed. During this challenging five-day course, 16 AfriForum neighbourhood watch members from Bronkhorstspruit, Delmas, Germiston, Boksburg, Mbombela (Nelspruit) and Vanderbijlpark spent five nights in tents amid the Highveld winter, survived on ration packs (aka “rat packs”), tested their fitness levels and underwent several training sessions in, among other things, self-defence and firearm handling. All this is to equip the elite of AfriForum’s neighbourhood watches to protect their respective communities.
The course ended on Friday and now brings the total number of AfriForum proto team members to more than 200. As part of AfriForum’s 177 neighbourhood and farm watch structures, proto teams act as specialised response teams. High-quality training of these members is therefore critical. At this stage, approximately 11 000 volunteers are already involved in AfriForum’s community safety structures nationwide and actively work on ground level to secure communities daily.
According to Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety, during proto team training, the selected neighbourhood watch members undergo training in various security aspects, including tactical firearm handling, how to approach buildings and vehicles during a crime situation, practical self-defence, bleeding control, legal aspects and withdrawal under fire. In addition, the focus is also placed on setting up vehicle checkpoints, gathering safety information and efficient radio use.
A 32-year-old teacher of AfriForum’s Bronkhorstspruit neighbourhood watch, Liam Lewis, is one of the 16 neighbourhood watch members who have just completed their training as proto team members. Lewis believes that this “informative course” emphasises, among other things, the importance of teamwork within a neighbourhood watch, and ensures the development of successful teamwork and awareness about safety. He also considers his training valuable, as he can use this knowledge and skills in his work as a teacher, where schools are often soft targets for riots.
Lizel Viljoen (43), a neighbourhood watch member of AfriForum’s Vanderbijlpark neighbourhood watch, who also underwent the proto team training, describes this training as “tough” but satisfying. She recommends it to every neighbourhood watch member who wants to make a difference in their community and emphasises that the training in self-defence and firearm training sessions, in particular, will offer her and her new fellow proto team members a valuable edge in their task of securing communities.
“Due to the nature of the work these members perform, it is extremely important that they are well trained. This will ensure that they can carry out their duties safely, efficiently and within the framework of the law for the benefit of their communities,” emphasises Broodryk.
During the conclusion of the proto-team training course, Broodryk thanked AfriForum’s neighbourhood watch members for their selfless sacrifice to take the responsibility of community safety into their own hands. “We see daily what an enormous difference our neighbourhood watch members make in their respective communities in the fight against crime. That is precisely why we will continue to expand these structures and train even more members,” concludes Broodryk.
Get involved with your local AfriForum neighbourhood watch today. Visit www.afriforumbuurtwag.co.za for more information.
Statement issued by Jacques Broodryk, Chief Spokesperson: Community Safety, AfriForum, 8 July 2024
