Child Protection Week which runs from 27 May to 3 June was launched at East Bank hall.
The children in attendance were full of exuberance but also voiced their concerns.
They were exuberant because it was a friendly platform for them to freely and publicly air issues close to their hearts.
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They are concerned about a future fraught with social ills they worry will inhibit them from attaining their potential which will ensure a prosperous and peaceful country. This was expressed by primary and secondary schoolchildren who were joined by representatives of Save the Children South Africa, African National Congress Youth League and ADAPT, and social workers and other stakeholders.
Save the Children’s Kgomotso Papo said the occasion was preceded by the training of the children in advocacy and the establishment of committees of youngsters to engage with authorities on their concerns and to demand participation in the integrated development planning and budgeting processes.
“They want to make an input in the development of parks, roads and schools which affect them directly,” Papo said.
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“Also, the training makes them better communicators on their right to participation as they develop into future responsible citizens, take ownership of leadership roles and also to understand that rights go along with responsibilities expected of them.” Papo added that they would also compile a report of these concerns and submit it to the African Committee of Experts on Rights and Welfare of Children.
He expects local councillors and police to create platforms for engagement with the youth to avoid tensions and violence caused by frustrations when their concerns are not attended to. This, he said, in reference to crime, poor service delivery and unfulfilled promises such as fencing off the Jukskei River to prevent drowning, ill health from polluted water and the washing away of shacks when the river floods.
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A beneficiary of the training Casimilo Sithole of Kwa-Bhekilanga Secondary School said, “We experience crime, abuse and neglect daily which affects our emotional and physical development from those we expect to protect and provide for our needs.” He referred to sexual abuse which children did not report fearing reprisal or the withdrawing of support by abusing relatives. “Children also emulate ill-discipline from the community like smoking and gangsteerism, and possess dangerous weapons in school.” Casimilo added that violent conduct was also instilled in children through corporal punishment which he said was still practised in some schools. He also decried tribalism which he said was passed on to children by their parents and caused unnecessary xenophobic tendencies and discouraged association among schoolchildren.
