The Pink Ladies Organisation say farewell to Dessie “Nana Des” Rechner; she spent the last 16 years helping find the missing, the young and the vulnerable.
South Africa (13 June 2022) – The Pink Ladies Organisation is one of South Africa’s leading organisations in notifying the public about missing people. They partner with organisations to help find people who have seemingly vanished.
The Pink Ladies Organisation was founded by Dessie Rechner and Jacqui Thomas in 2007 after two young women had gone missing and were later found raped and murdered. The Pink Ladies was quickly adopted as the social face of missing people, using social media to help alert people to those who need to be found. The organisation was comprised of concerned parents, all of whom had some form of legal or crime prevention background.
The Pink Ladies have worked tirelessly to dispel the notion that one must wait 72 hours to report a missing person. This is not the practice in South Africa, and a missing person case can be opened from the moment it is known someone is missing. This must be done by a family member or relative at their local SAPS station before the Pink Ladies can get involved.
Over the last 16 years, Dessie (aka Nana Des) and Jacqui have made a big difference in South Africa. They have worked on some heartbreaking cases as well as brought great relief when announcing someone has been safely reunited with family.
Sadly, Jacqui shared this morning that co-founder Nana Des had passed away. The loss has been felt deeply by the entire South African community. Nana Des fought to end child exploitation and trafficking. She touched the lives of thousands of people.
Tributes have been pouring in since the announcement of her passing, with hundreds of people sending their wishes of condolences to Nana Des’s family and the Pink Ladies team.
“Dear Task Team, Pink Ladies Members, Volunteers, Members of the Public and SAPS
Our Beloved Mom and Granny Des (Nana) passed away peacefully this morning after a short illness.
Des was not only a stalwart in our fight for missing and exploited children, but also a business partner, confidant, best friend, mother and grandmother.
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Our heartfelt condolences to her daughter, grandchildren and all who were touched by her.
On a personal note, over the past 16yrs, Des and I never went more than a day without a call, message or email. Her constant presence will be sorely missed, but her legacy will remain.
Our business operations will continue as usual, which is what she wanted.
Warm regards,
Jacqui Thomas
Co-director & Co-founder
The Pink Ladies Organisation”
You can add your messages of condolence to Facebook here, and if you wish to learn more about getting involved, you can do so here or get more info from the website here.
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