The gala dinner, hosted by international hardware vendor Acer in conjunction with business partners Kaizer Chiefs, YFM, Intel and Fig Technology, served to raise awareness and funds for the fight against woman and child abuse in South Africa.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Open Disclosure Foundation for the establishment of a safe house for abuse

victims as well as creating a cyber centre that will help empower women by assisting them to acquire IT skills.

The charity dinner, directed and choreographed by Esther Nasser, included story telling and theatre by kwaito singer,

Andile Gaelesiwe and acclaimed actress Sandra Prinsloo, while the South African Ballet Theatre performed the 'Rose a

Dage' from the ballet 'The sleeping beauty'. Mamela Nyamza further danced the contemporary "Dying Swan".

Says Nasser: "Schalk Schoombie wrote the script for the evening and Andre Abrahamse and his band was responsible

for the music. Thandi Klaasen also entertained guest with a moving rendition of 'Sophia Town'."

Prinsloo talks about her involvement in the project as well as her commitment to the fight against abuse, saying that there

is no social barrier when it comes to domestic violence.

"Because abuse and battering are so deeply attached to

shame, even speaking about the situation might seem an insurmountable problem to some victims. Whether financially

privileged or not, women face the same pain and threat across the board."

Open Disclosure is a foundation formulated specifically to deal with victims of sexual abuse and is spearheaded by

Gaelesiwe. Having recently gone public with her own childhood abuse, she is an advocate for open discussion.

"I believe that talking is therapy and therapy is healing - therefore disclosing is the first step towards healing, when it

comes to abuse."

Local radio station Yfm CEO, Dirk Hartford, comments that they are thrilled at the momentum gained by the campaign against abuse. "I want to thank Andile, a dear member of the Yfm family, for her hard work and also all the event sponsors for allocating resources towards the grueling fight against abuse in our nation."

Helwick comments that it was an evening of celebration, applauding women and the strength they possess.

"Apart from raising money to fight abuse, we also honoured women and children who have come through this sort of ordeal as victors. At Acer we believe that if you empower a woman, you empower a nation, that is why the theme of the evening

was: 'Women of Courage and Strength'."