Alex’s Realogile High School learn more about Child Protection Services

The Department of Health’s Clinical Forensic Medical Services, Johannesburg District, in partnership with other stakeholders held a workshop at Realogile High School to educate learners with the necessary information and raise awareness about the Child Care Protection Services in the Johannesburg District.

Stakeholders such as Sanca, Adapt, Act Now, Thusong Youth Centre, Eagles of Hope, Nacosa and Bombani Shelter for Abused Women and Children, etc were in attendance to educate and share knowledge more with the learners.

Tshepo Lerole, a gender-based violence (GBV) activist from Act Now, said; “Today we are gathered here to raise awareness about gender-based violence, domestic violence and rape to the learners of this school because we want them to be more aware of their rights, and that there is something called child protection week.”

According to Lerole, they were also discussing topics such as human trafficking, cyberbullying, bullying, educating learners about rape and where to get help, Gender-Based Violence and substance abuse.

“We brought in different stakeholders to educate the kids about processes to follow when they need to get help because we realised that some have problems, but they do not know where to go to get help.
“We want the youngsters to be fully educated and understand the issues around the topic because we want them to live and enjoy a better South Africa that is free from abuses of one by the other and where there are abundant awareness programmes on their rights,” Lerole said.

Chris Ndlovu from Thusong Youth Centre educated the learners about the effects of substance abuse as it is one of the issues that schools and the community of Alexandra are struggling with. He also warned them about the dangers of substances abuses.

“My role today was to run a dialogue circle with one of the Grade 8 classes about substance abuse, and we covered topics like what drives the youth to use drugs and alcohol at schools or home.

“We also spoke about driving factors such as backgrounds, schools and the company they keep which sometimes influences or contributes to young people ending up using substances.”

Ndlovu told Alex News in an interview that they also discussed ways that can help those who are already addicted and the organisations that they can go to for help to quit or refer someone to for help.

Organisers of the session described the participation and response they got from the learners as ‘positive’ due to the level of engagement shown and their understanding of the topics covered.

“I am happy about today because the educators made sure they made the atmosphere feel lighter while educating us about serious stuff like GBV, rape, etc by making us participate in games which made learning to be fun,” said Neo Makolometsa, one of the learners at the school, told Alex News.

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