Carol Johnson has recently been appointed as the new director at Gadra Advice Centre after Pauline Mitchell stepped down at the end of last year.
Carol Johnson has recently been appointed as the new director at Gadra Advice Centre after Pauline Mitchell stepped down at the end of last year.
Johnson brings to the role years of experience working in the field of social work. She worked for South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) for eight years as well as for a victims
empowerment project in Johannesburg before relocating to Grahamstown.
Johnson is no stranger to Gadra as she has served on the organisation’s management board before being
interviewed for the directorship. She will carry on with the projects established under Mitchell’s leadership but looks to “expand and improve on them”.
These projects include computer training, foot massage training and a beekeeping project for the blind.
For the gardening project, Johnson said that there is a volunteer from New Zealand who will be working with the blind on the project for the next two years.
The main idea here is that the participants are able to assist their families while at the same time
earning an income from the sale of the produce.
Makana Meadery will provide advanced training for three beneficiaries on how to work with bees as well as
how to extract honey from the comb.
Johnson said that she will bringing in a new and fresh perspective to Gadra. “This is the oldest NGO in
Grahamstown and I have to respect its history,” she said. “But I do plan on growing the services even further and make sure that the services are still relevant to the Grahamstown community.”
Johnson’s background and passion is helping people who suffer from substance abuse so every Thursday
people will be able to visit the centre to talk to her and her team about their substance abuse problems.
“Once we’ve built enough of a client base, we’ll start a support group to try and prevent relapses,” she
said. She also plans on employing another social worker to start awareness campaigns at schools.
She said that the centre will provide personal life skills programmes which will ensure a holistic approach to helping those who need a hand in their life.
“My philosophy is don’t just put a bandage over it, but find the source of the pain and
tackle that as well,” she said. Mitchell said that the only advice she could offer to Johnson is that she must make this position her own.
“To be a good leader, one needs to be passionate and she is very passionate,” Mitchell said. She added that it would be great if Johnson could make the position her own and follow her own path.
