SAPS members bond with families on outing
PARKVIEW – Social Work Services department arranged for police officers from the Jhb East Cluster to spend Freedom Day bonding with their families at the zoo.
The Johannesburg East Cluster police spent time with their families and social workers on Freedom Day.
The family day event was spent at the Johannesburg Zoo in Parkview and social workers of the South African Police Service Employee Health and Wellness services were there to encourage the families of members of the force to support them.
Reverend Captain Lilana Kasper kicked off proceedings and said due to the stresses of the profession, sometimes police officers needed to be supported by their families. Adding on to that, senior social worker, Nokuthula Mthimkulu said, “Our theme for today is ‘my family is my strength’ because when I go home after work or a hard day, I go to people who give me strength. The world is not nice to people in such a profession, therefore we encourage children to support their parents who are officers because they do the hardest jobs as they protect the zoo, parks and public spaces.”
Referring to the flooding in Kwazulu-Natal, head of Social Work Services in Gauteng, Lieutenant Colonel Winnie Mavuso encouraged family members to share love every day because lives could be lost at any time.
Social worker, Captain Priscilla Vena encouraged officers to contact the wellness services when they experienced problems. “When you have attended to a traumatic incident, when you have issues with family members or children, you should consult with us in order to take care of your emotional well-being. We also help with domestic issues, alcohol or substance abuse issues as well as HIV/Aids issues,” Vena said.
The rest of the day was spent in song and dance and attendees took a tour around the animal enclosures.
Details: South African Police Services www.saps.gov.za
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