KABOKWENI – It has been proven that suicide is still a silent killer among young people, especially during this time of the year.
Recently, a 17-year-old learner from Ngodini high school left her family in shock after she tried to commit suicide.
This was after she received her report and discovered that she had failed .
Speaking to this publication, one of the family members, Ms Dumisile Nkosi said: “She came back from school and greeted us. She was very down, you could tell that something was bothering her. I tried to talk to her to find out what was wrong, then she gave me the report and I found out that she had failed.
“She went to her room. When I was busy preparing supper, she sent me an sms via whatsupp written: “Life is tough. Things are not going the way I want.“ I then rushed to her bedroom and she was not there. I discovered some tablets lying on the bed and then I knew something was wrong.
I went outside to look for her and I managed to find her in our backyard with a rope in her hand at one of our mango trees. She was about to hang herself, but I am glad that I arrived at the right time and she didn’t swallow the pills,“ said Nkosi.
In another incident, Mpumalanga News learnt that a 16-year-old learner from Skapandoda high school in Marite, also tried to commit suicide.
This drama started after the learner managed to pass to the next grade, but her mother denied her to move to another school as she was looking forward to joining her friends next year in one of the notorious schools in Bushbuckridge which is Mathipe high school.
It’s reported that the learner locked herself in a room and swallowed tablets. At a later stage she started to vomit. That is when her mother realised that her child wanted to commit suicide.
Meanwhile, not so long ago, community members of Pienaar were left in shock after two young people committed suicide in different incidents.
This newspaper learnt that a 30-year –old man hanged himself near Mashobane, while a 19-year-old learner from Thembeka high school died at the Kanyamazane clinic after it was alleged that she had swallowed or overdosed herself with pills.
The spokesperson of the local police, Sgt Jabu Ndubane, confirmed both incidents. ”It’s true that we came across the incidents where two young people committed suicide in different sections around our policing areas and we don’t know the motives.“
It’s allegedly believe that such incidents are likely to increase since the grade 12 students are waiting for their results. Some of them may find it very difficult to accept the results or might fail and find it very difficult to cope with pressure from peers.
The South African Council of Churches in the province has called upon church leaders to play a role by praying for the learners not to give up hope. The prayer service took place before the examinations commenced.
”We’d like to urge parents and communities at large, to give moral support to the learners and also to pastors, they must make sure that they always put all learners in their prayers because this is not an easy time for them. They need to play a role, even in counseling and encouraging them that it’s not the end of life.
“As much as I believe that committing suicide is not a solution to problems, when you fail, it doesn’t mean that you are a failure, but it means that you need to correct something in your studies,“ said the provincial chairperson of the SACC, Rev Gordon Mthembu.
Previously, such shocking incidents were very rife in Nkomazi Local Municipality, but these days it has spread to other places around the Lowveld region.
Recently a shocking suicide incident occurred in Nkomazi a month ago where a learner committed suicide when she lay on a railway crossing due to family problems. Another learner in Masoyi committed suicide by a poison potion after she discovered that she was pregnant.
