THOHOYANDOU - In a bid to help remove stress and help the police in their fight against crime, the Far North Area has appointed two female chaplains.

The newly-appointed chaplains are Fulufhelani Dagada (38) and Lufuluvhi Mudimeli (31). The appointment of the two chaplains makes the Far North Area the first one to appoint female chaplains.

Far North Area only had one full-time chaplain, Supt. Ramulongo. The two chaplains will assist Ramulongo in attending to depressed and sick police officers at work and at home. They will also visit police stations, especially in Thohoyandou, counselling depressed police officers, as Thohoyandou is the biggest station with highly demanding jobs.

"Thohoyandou is the biggest station in our area. It has many people and a lot of work, which puts pressure on the police. Musina is also our area of focus, because of different cultures in the area. Louis Trichardt also has a high demand because it covers a big area with a diversity of races and languages. Because of the nature of these areas, our police officers can't get good support in their job, so we give them spiritual support," said Ramulongo.

Ramulongo said they also counsel criminals who repent when being released from jail. "A police officer dealing with a criminal should be cool and calm, so that the person can be effective in his/her job. So, by counselling them, it helps to remove stress," he said.

Meanwhile, the chaplains also work with pastors who have volunteered to help police in a project called "Adopt a Station". This project, which is the only of its kind in the far north, according to police spokesperson Captain Ailwei Mushavhanamadi, was started in February 2001. It has 21 pastors who have volunteered their services.

Some of the committee members for "Adopt a Station" are Pastor Nelson Thovhakale, Pastor Mulalo Thovhakale and Pastor Mudanalo Mathomu.

The main aim of the project is to support the police from the side of the community. The volunteers also preach the Word of God to the police, apart from doing counselling.

"The police have to maintain law and order in our community. But they have difficult challenges that need the Word of God and counselling," said Pastor Thovhakale, who is the spokesperson for the volunteers.

The volunteers visit the stations and do morning devotions at 07:30. They also visit police officers in their offices. They help to solve family problems; the commanders of different section in the police appreciate social problems, financial problems and their jobs.