The susceptibility to fires in informal settlements situated in Primrose has left hundreds of people homeless.
Engen KlevaKidz, an educational campaign that uses industrial theatre to engage with and educate learners about the importance of paraffin safety, visited Hawk Academy last Monday.
The school is filled with learners from informal settlements and thus were identified as the prime target market for such a campaign.
Engen Corporate Social Investment manager Adhila Hamdulay explained that young children in under-resourced households are often the primary daytime caregivers, often looking after their siblings while their parents or guardians are at work.
“Without supervision, and uninformed of the multiple dangers associated with using paraffin, children between the ages of seven and 13 are often vulnerable, and it is these children who are the focus of Engen KlevaKidz,” said Adhila.
Since its inception in 2008, Engen KlevaKidz has reached over 281 214 learners in 700 schools across South Africa.
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The tour has parked in rural villages deep in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape to townships in Gauteng, the Western Cape and Free State.
Engen KlevaKidz takes the form of an interactive educational stage drama using engaging characters to relay key safety messages in the learners’ mother tongues, including Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa and English, combined with jingles to reinforce the theme.
Mr Wise, the superhero of safety, taught learners about how to identify and use paraffin safely while interacting with “learners” Bongi and Junior, urging them to be careful when using paraffin.
Through the dramatisation, learners learnt basic factors of how to handle paraffin, storing it safely, and what to do if it’s ingested and inhaled.
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Mr Wise also focused on the importance of being clean and washing hands after contact with paraffin.
“Engen is South Africa’s leading supplier of paraffin through the Laurel Paraffin brand.
“As a leading provider of petroleum products in SA, we take this to heart and are honoured to contribute to the livelihoods and the safety of people,” concluded Adhila.
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