China puts a smile on faces of Tshwane kids

With six out of 10 South African children being multi-dimensionally poor, and suffering, on average, four out of seven deprivations, the Chinese embassy yesterday brought smiles to those at the Child Welfare Tshwane in Groenkloof.

In a moving ceremony marked with singing by recipients of a large food donation presented by Chinese ambassador Chen Xiaodong, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma lauded the gesture as “special and important”.

Children

According to Child Welfare Tshwane spokesperson Mia Fuchs, the centre accommodates 45 children from “difficult” backgrounds.

“They are permanent residents here, placed by a court order, due to neglect and abuse at home.

“While we are partially funded by government, we must work hard at raising more money to cover the many children’s needs.

“Coming from broken homes, they are traumatised and need therapy to start healing. We provide the shelter, food and love, but they need healing – something requiring specialists and more funds,: said Fuchs.

“This food donation from the Chinese embassy will make a huge difference.”

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SA – China partnership

Dlamini-Zuma said the partnership between South Africa and China meant “a lot”.  

Quoting Nelson Mandela, Dlamini-Zuma said: “He used to remind us that ‘you judge a country by the way it treats its children’.

“This is an important partnership with China, a country we have partnered with in various areas.”

Chen said China and South Africa were good friends. “We wanted to show our care here to these lovely children,” he said.

“One day they will visit China and be welcome to share in our culture.”

Eradicating poverty

Commenting on South Africa being an unequal society, Stellenbosch University professor of development studies Mark Swilling said the world had many examples of countries which succeeded in eradicating poverty.

“A good example is South Korea, which was at a similar level of development with us in the ’60s,” said Swilling.

He cited economic sabotage as contributing to South Africa’s downward economic spiral.

In just a few days, South Africa will join the global community in celebrating International Children’s Day. The day is annually celebrated on 1 June, with its origin dating back to the World Conference for the Wellbeing of Children in Geneva in 1925.

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