‘Protect us from lions’ – Child Protection Week

This was a campaign done by Child Welfare South Africa and Mothers2Mothers organization.

Patience Twala-Mabena from Child Welfare South Africa educating children at Ilanga Private Academy about their rights.

The energetic and creative scholars from Ilanga Private Academy gathered up to learn about their rights and responsibilities.

This was a campaign done by Child Welfare South Africa and Mothers2Mothers organization. The project was held at the school on Wednesday, June 2, as a campaign for Child Protection Week.

Funny, yet also creative answers came from the learners when they were asked questions about rights, responsibilities and wellbeing. Some said that child protection means to “protect us from lions and snakes.”

The school principal at Ilanga Private Academy, Ms Annelien van der Schyf, expressed her gratitude for the initiative made by the organization. “It is very important to make the children aware that they have rights and to alert the perpetrators that the children do know the difference between right and wrong, and they also know where to report any wrongdoings,” Van der Schyf added.

The children were also taught about social issues that affect children, mainly in eMalahleni. Issues such as bullying, abuse, human trafficking and health care were raised in the presentation and the children understood how to protect themselves in such instances.

‘We should run away’ was their answer to most of the questions relating to strangers where raised. Child Welfare South Africa and Mothers2Mothers held other programs at various schools and day-care centres in eMalahleni, Clewer and Hlalanikahle.