CPUT lecturer Marlon Parker, who founded The Reconstructed Project, the country’s first online mobile drug counseling service, has introduced another first for South Africa – online debt counseling.

Parker, a lecturer in the Faculty of Informatics and Design, who made headlines with his online drug counselling services, said they are now extending their services to South Africans who are feeling the economic crunch.

In 2007, he launched The Reconstructed Project, which saw reformed gangsters and drug addicts provide advice and counselling services to individuals via social media, such as blogs and cellphone chat rooms.

Similar to the drug and social counseling services, those in debt will be able to use their cellphones to chat to registered debt counselors, who will be based with The Reconstructed Project at The Impact Centre in Bridgetown .

“Many people we have come into contact with at the centre are in debt. We also realised that debt caused a lot of problems in communities.” he said.

According to recent statistics, an estimated 12 million South Africans are over-indebted.

Although South Africans have the legal right to approach debt counselors, who can act as mediators between them and their creditors, many are not making use of their services.

“Over-Indebted consumers are often afraid to approach a debt counselor,” he said.

Others are not aware of the services offered by debt couselors or their legal rights.

With this service, consumers will have access to free advice regarding debt.

“Your conversation is confidential and anonymous allowing you to have the liberty to address the debt issues you, family or friends are experiencing,” he said.

Those who use this service will have free access to financial assessments.

Debt Breaker would also be able to refer subscribers to registered debt counselors across South Africa .

Parker is positive that this service, like the existing ones, will impact on the community.

In April, the Reconstructed blog, which is used by reformed gangsters and drug addicts to spread a message of hope, clinched second place in a national blog competition.

“Just to be mentioned in the same breath with blogs such as SARocks, Thought Leader (by Mail and Guardian), Moral Fibre and all the others is a humbling experience for us,” he said.

Parker said this achievement highlighted that through using a simple medium such as blogging and other social media, their lives as well as the individuals who make use of the service, has been changed.

Various other initiatives are lined up for this year, including the launch of the Althone Living Lab, which will promote Information and Communication Technology development.

The lab is collaboration between Impact Direct, Bridgetown Community, CPUT and supported by COFISA.

Later this year he will also travel to the United Kingdom , where he will deliver a keynote address on these activities at a conference.

For more information on Debt Counseling or any of the other services offered by The Reconstructed contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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A poster by CPUT student Jason Pereira and supervisor Marlon Parker, dealing with the use of blogging in communities with tension, received top honours at the Tenth Annual Conference on World Wide Web Applications (ZA-WWW) held from 3 to 5 September 2008.

The tenth ZA-WWW was hosted jointly by CPUT and the University of Cape Town. It allows researchers from different disciplines, including business, education, technology and social science to submit and discuss work relating to the impact of the World Wide Web on their fields.

Pereira and Parker’s winning poster presented research into how keeping an online personal log can aid the rehabilitation process. Using social networking applications such as Facebook and Mxit, a group of former drug users and gangsters were encouraged to share their experiences and encourage each other in their journeys towards wellness. Pereira and Parker interviewed members of the group and used their findings to formulate ideas on how people living in communities affected by drugs and gangsterism can be empowered and healed through web technologies.

On receiving the prize for best poster, a laptop, Pereira noted that this was the first time he had presented at ZA-WWW. “To have a paper accepted was an achievement – and now this!” he said.

Second prize went to Simon Diab, supervised by Prof Pieter van Brakel, for the poster “Impact of information dissemination by virtual communities of practice in an SMME environment.” Prof Melius Weideman received third prize for work on the relationship between web page design and search engine rankings. Both posters were submitted by members of the CPUT Informatics and Design Faculty.

Special mention was made of African Journals Online, of Grahamstown, for the organisation’s work into increasing the accessibility of African publications.

The ZA-WWW conference is endorsed by the International World Wide Web Conference Committee and is attended by delegates from a variety of national and international universities. Prof Pieter van Brakel of CPUT is the Conference Chair of this series of annual conferences, which he initiated in 1999 while still at the University of Johannesburg. The University of Cape Town provided this year’s presentation venues.

A call for papers for the 2009 conference, to be held in Port Elizabeth, has already been sent out.

For more information about ZA-WWW go to http://www.zaw3.co.za .

By Ilana Abratt, Marketing and Communication Department

Written by CPUT News

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CPUT values transformation and diversity in all of its functions.

The Department of Office Management and Technology recently hosted a Diversity Management Seminar at the Cape Town Campus to provide a platform for students and staff to engage each other on these issues.

Under the theme, Overcoming Adversity: Looking Beyond, the seminar featured perspectives from social entrepreneurs.

Delivering his keynote address at the seminar, Reconstructed Living Labs (RLabs) founder, Marlon Parker, told the crowd how he uses digital media and mobile technology to solve the social ills in communities by giving residents hope against all odds.

Started in Athlone in 2008, the RLabs is a global movement which spans across 22 countries.

Another speaker at the event was Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, founder and Executive Director of Embrace Dignity, an NGO advocating for the abolition of sexual exploitation.

Madlala-Routledge warned the audience not to become bystanders but active opponents of sexual abuse.

Lecturer Mandie Richards says the speakers were inspiring and commended them for making a difference, and contributing towards social upliftment in communities.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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Office and Management Technology students were inspired to defy the odds.

Brent Williams, a social entrepreneur and director at Reconstructed Living Labs (RLabs), recently delivered a motivational talk to the students at the Cape Town campus.

His talk, “Hope in the Midst of Chaos”, highlighted his life journey as a young man on the Cape Flats, dropping out of high school, his drug addiction and involvement in gangsterism. He also highlighted how he overcame these challenges to become one of the Directors at RLabs.

The organisation is the brainchild of Marlon Parker, a CPUT alumnus and former staff member. The organization started in Bridgetown, Athlone in 2008, and is now a global movement operating in 22 countries, instilling hope and uplifting communities through various programmes. 

Williams says Parker’s belief in uplifting the community and providing a platform for community members to empower themselves, instilled a sense of purpose and pride in the community and inspired him to work towards achieving various goals in life.

The organization has two youth cafés, one at the Vangate Mall and in Mitchells Plain. Here a positive environment is provided for youth to socialise and empower themselves through various projects.   The company also uses digital media and mobile technology to solve the social ills in communities by giving residents hope against all odds.

Senior Lecturer Mandie Richards emphasised the need for all people to realise the role they have to play in society and how one person can make a difference.

For more information on RLabs see www.rlabs.org

Written by Kwanele Butana

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