After 8 years as director of The Seven Passes Initiative (SPI), Wilmi Dippenaar has resigned from her position in order to take on a full-time role as director of SAPPIN. Wilmi will be succeeded by Sive Vaaltein.
As she ends an era at SPI, Wilmi had the following to say, “What a journey it has been! I have worked for SPI for 8 years. These years have been absolutely phenomenal in my personal growth. I am grateful for all the impact the children, community members and staff had on my development and perspectives as a human being. I will forever be in the debt of the people from Touwsranten. I also believe that my work at SPI prepared me for the next phase at SAPPIN.”
As she steps into her role as director of SAPPIN, she is looking forward to connecting with the different member organisations, building relationships and trust and becoming aware of themes that connect us. She wants to work to address these connections and actively support collaborations where she can. She is also looking forward to working more closely with the extended network of the Community of Practice that was established earlier in the year in the Western Cape. SAPPIN’s hope is to learn from this CoP and eventually be able to duplicate this model in other provinces with the support of SAPPIN members.
SAPPIN has grown so quickly and our voice has become important in the parenting world during the last couple of years. For the network to have a full-time person will ensure that we can do more, deliver better quality services and support organisations. Having a focused leader will allow us to reach more people, and engage more with government, researchers and the private sector and we will be able to be part of securing a future for all who live in South Africa by helping families create warm and non-violent homes for children.
As of the 1st of September 2023, you can contact Wilmi with any queries regarding SAPPIN on wilmi@sappin.org.za
We wish Wilmi much success in bringing about change in her new role.