'Young Leaders for Children' Conference - A conference for emerging young leaders to drive sustainable change in the children’s sector!

The Centre for Early Childhood Development announces the ‘Young Leaders for Children’ Conference as part of our 25th birthday celebrations. The conference will take place from 01 to 03 October 2019 in Cape Town. The aim of this conference is to reach, inspire, inform, and equip young leaders who work in the children’s sector. This conference is targeted at individuals 35 years and younger and is limited to 100 delegates.
 
Many nonprofits in the children’s sector lack leadership and management skills. This can be seen in the large number of children’s organisations that have had to downscale and the fact that many have closed in the last few years. The lack of leadership and financial sustainability in the NPO sector has had a significant, negative impact on services to children. The ‘Young Leaders for Children’ conference is a way in which to respond to these challenges. This is critical as we believe young people have the power to bring about sustainable change! The conference aims to build young leadership to drive this change in our country.
 
The conference will do this by covering three main themes:

• Leadership: Inspire young people to become great leaders
• Management: Provide young people with the skills on how to effectively manage non-profit organisations
• Children’s sector research and programmes: Inform young people about the reality of the state of children in the country and to allow individuals to share information on successful programmes they are running

Date: 1 October, 2019 to 3 October, 2019

Venue: Inyathelo - Buchanan Square, 160 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town

Cost: Early Bird Registration: R 2,500 (deadline: 28 June 2019) Full Registration: R3,000 (deadline: 06 September 2019)

Call for Papers and the Khawuleza Event

The conference seeks presentations on the three themes: leadership, management and children’s sector research and programmes.
 
Instructions to those who wish to present at the conference:

Individuals wishing to present at the conference can do so in two ways. Firstly, you can submit an abstract to present during a breakaway session on one of the themes or submit a synopsis to take part in our ‘Khawuleza’ (Pecha Kucha-style) event (or you can submit for both!).
 
Our ‘Khawuleza’ event (meaning “Go quick!” in isiXhosa) is a Pecha Kucha-style evening that includes ten presentations of six minutes each. This event is a good way to showcase the work of young leaders and other initiatives, in a fun and lively manner.
 
To register and for more information please visit our conference website on www.youngleadersforchildren.co.za alternatively contact us on 021-6832420 or email Najwah Mukadam on nmukadam@cecd.org.za or Jessica Blom on jblom@cecd.org.za

A Randfontein man has died in hospital a week after his eight-year-old granddaughter accidentally shot him.

“The man died yesterday in the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto due to his critical injuries,” David Masedi of the SAPD told YOU.

Last week YOU reported that the eight-year-old girl had thought the firearm was a toy gun when she shot her grandfather in the forehead, just above the eye, on Tuesday (3 April).

To read the article titled, "Randfontein man dies after being shot – allegedly by granddaughter (8)" click here

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's official memorial service at Orlando Stadium in Soweto was a celebratory event with an electric and jovial crowd.

But there were also tears. African National Congress (ANC) colours dominated the venue with many people who came to celebrate the life of the struggle stalwart dressed from head to toe in green‚ black and yellow.

To read the article titled, "Winnie Madikizela-Mandela memorial was a day of laughter, tears" click here

The month of May is child protection month in South Africa and this year child protection week is celebrated from 28 May to 4 June 2018. Valcare members, KIN Culture and KiBWE have also successfully registered the very first World Foster Day that will be celebrated on 31 May 2018.

Here are 10 ways of  how your organisation, church or business can celebrate the value of children and create awareness for child protection during May:

1. GO GREEN FOR AWARENESS

The Green Ribbon was adopted by the National Child Protection Committee in 1994 and symbolises life and growth associated with children as well as the nurturing of children.
Let your staff and volunteers wear green ribbons and tie green material or ribbons around the fences and trees of your organisation’s building. You can also let people write positive messages about child protection on cards and tie these messages together with green ribbons.

2. TEACH CHILDREN THEIR RIGHTS

Encourage child participation by doing activities together with the children in your organisation, church or family:

• Teach children their rights as outlined by the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child (CRC, 1990) and The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
• Teach children protective behaviours and how to report abuse.
• Let the children make posters and banners with verses, statements and children’s rights written on them.
• Let your children plant a tree as a commitment to nurture every generation so that the next generation may be stronger.
• Let your children write messages on green balloons and have a balloon ceremony.

3. EMPOWER YOUR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

Organise child protection training to equip your staff and volunteers to make child protection a priority, especially with regard to the new Children’s Act.

4. VISIBLE PROTESTS

Display child protection posters in your organisation and community to raise awareness for child protection.

5. PRAY TOGETHER 

Visit www.worldweekendofprayer.com to download prayer and activity resources. 

6. GET TALKING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Create awareness for child protection by using the hash tag #ChildProtectionMonth and sharing stories and resources that could educate, inspire and inform.

7. HELP WITH IDENTIFICATION KITS

Equip and work together with parents to put Interim ID kits together for their children by downloading these kits at www.missingchildren.org.za. These kits may be helpful to speed up the process of locating a missing child.

8. PARTICIPATE IN #WORLDFOSTERDAY

For the very first time, World Foster Day will be celebrated on 31 May 2018. To raise awareness, draw a smiley face on any three fingers, capture your family of smiley faces by taking a picture and share it on social media on 31 May 2018 using #worldfosterday. (For more info, click here).

9. JOIN FORCES FOR GREATER IMPACT

Partner together with churches and organisations in your community to launch child protection initiatives and forums.
Valcare is part of the Drakenstein Child Protection Steering Group along with Ezrah, Khula Development Group and other organisations to discuss and facilitate initiatives.

10. BE VIGILANT AND REPORT 

Keep a look out for children in need or at-risk in your community and report child abuse/neglect to a social worker or the South African Police Service.

Additional helpful resources and websites

• www.valcare.org.za/resources/
• www.connectnetwork.org.za/about-us/report-abuse/
• www.rapcan.org.za
• www.childline.org.za
• www.missingchildren.org.za
• www.embrace.org.za
• www.thinktwice.org.za
• www.jellybeanz.org.za/
• www.thepinkladiesza.weebly.com/

Ideas and resources compiled by Mariëtte Jacobs in partnership with Valcare, Connect Network and the Drakenstein Child Protection Steering Group to promote child protection. For more information please contact Leani Jansen van Vuuren, PR & Communication for Valcare at leani@valcare.org.za.
 

• This article was written by NGO Pulse User Valcare and was first published in the Valcare website

Photo Courtesy: shutterstock

Child protection statistics in South Africa paint a troubling picture: high proportions of the nation’s children victimised by violence. But in a country numbed by shocking crime statistics it is easy to lose sight of the children behind the numbers. It is why the stories of 11 child victims whose lives have been forever changed or ended by violence are so important.
 
In the build-up to the 2018 Child Protection Week, statistics released in the South African Parliament showed that at least 41% of all reported rape cases from the past three years involve children. In the same period, more than 2,600 children were murdered. Add to this the tens of thousands of babies abandoned across the country (two out of three of whom are reported to have died), and revelations from a 20-year investigation that 99% of the children studied had witnessed violence or been a victim of it, and it is not surprising that global humanitarian organisation World Vision recommend that violence against children be treated as a national disaster.
 
But as harrowing as these statistics are, they cannot adequately portray the everyday impact of violence on children in South Africa. The victims’ individual narratives illustrate it best. Exemplified in a campaign launched for Child Protection Week: “I am NOT a Number, #IAM…”, these 11 stories are all recent or current cases being investigated by Child Protection activists. Names have been changed to protect their identities, but these are their accounts.
 
Patricia
I am Patricia.
I was three when I died.
The abuse started as soon as my stepfather moved in with us.
He would throw me against walls when he got angry.
He kicked me in the stomach.
Once, my mom threw me from my bedroom because I wet the bed.
I landed on something hard and my body hurt for a long time.
Even though they knew, no one in authority wanted to help.
After I died, the experts said that almost every inch of my body was bruised.
I am Patricia.
I am dead.
 
 
Matthew
I am Matthew.
I am 12 years old.
My father was convicted of 107 counts of crimes related to child pornography, more than 290,000 images and videos of violent sexual acts against children.
I lived in his house for years, but no one saw me, or came to my rescue.
Even after the authorities found out about his crimes, I remained in his care.
I am the child of a man who committed crimes against children.
I am also a child.
I am Matthew.
 
 
Tumelo
I am Tumelo.
I am three months old.
I have never known my mother.
I’m sure she is kind, so I don’t know why she put me in a plastic bag and left me on a rubbish dump just after I was born.
I was hungry and cold and afraid, especially of the rats.
I was afraid of the dog that found me too.
I have been in hospital ever since.
Doctors managed to save my fingers and toes and most of my nose.
A kind nurse gave me my name.
I hope that someone will love me.
I am Tumelo, I was abandoned.
 
 
Jessica
I am Jessica.
I am four years old.
I live with my mother and her boyfriend.
He has been forcing me to have sex with him. My sister too.
Recently, while they were using drugs, he forced me into the bath and raped me there.
My sister was there too, and my mother recorded it.
I heard them say they would sell the video to buy more drugs.
I don’t want them to do this again.
I am Jessica.
Please help me.
 
 
Thandiwe
I am Thandiwe.
I am six years old.
I am living with my aunt and uncle.
Almost every bone in my body has been broken.
My mom and dad told the investigator that they didn’t know how I got so hurt.
They came up with stories that made no sense.
They abused me and wounded every part of my body.
They have not been prosecuted.
I am Thandiwe, I was not loved.
 
 
Sifiso
I am Sifiso.
I am 11 years old.
I have always loved playing soccer.
I wanted to play professional soccer for Amakhosi.
My parents saved money and sacrificed many things to send me to Jozi to pursue my dream.
My coach said that if I wanted to play, I had to have sex with him.
He was cruel to me and beat me.
I am Sifiso, my dream is over.
I don’t watch soccer any more.
 
 
Lebohang
I am Lebohang.
Soon after I was born my mother got cancer.
My father wasn’t around much.
One day I couldn’t stop crying, and my mother shook me very hard.
I started bleeding on my brain and behind my eyes.
I spent a lot of time in hospital.
I now have Cerebral Palsy and I struggle with things that other children find easy.
I am Lebohang, I am a shaken baby.
 
 
Ryan
I am Ryan.
When I was six years old my father killed my mother.
I sat in the corner of the room, closed my eyes, and covered my ears.
I tried not to hear anything, but the punching was quite loud.
The pathologist said that my mom’s insides were so badly wounded that it looked like she had been hit by a bus.
My father was never prosecuted.
I am Ryan, my mother is dead, I can never forget how it happened.
 
 
Baby 12599
I have no name, I died without one.
I was born on the floor of the toilet, tiny but perfect.
My mother was frightened when she heard me cry.
She thought the pills she had taken would make me die, but I had fought for life.
She picked me up for a moment, one small touch of warm hands.
Then she placed me in the pit latrine.
I drowned in the water and the filth.
Now I lie in an unmarked grave with 15 other bodies.
I wonder what I would have looked like today.
I am Baby 12599, I died on the day I was born.
 
 
Refilwe
I am Refilwe, I am severely disabled.
A man at my day care raped me every day while my mother was at work.
My mother found out and took me to the hospital. The doctor said I had been raped a lot but did not offer us any counselling.
My mother pressed charges.
The police dropped the charges because I cannot walk or talk.
They said I can’t testify because I cannot tell anyone what happened.
The daycare says that the police did not ask any of the employees to give DNA.
I have no voice to voice my pain, and no one will help my mother.
I am Refilwe, I was raped repeatedly and authorities do not care.
 
 
Jordan
I am Jordan.
I was three years old when I died.
My stepfather beat me up, and my mother did nothing.
He hit me on the head and I started to bleed.
He wouldn’t stop.
He put me in boiling water and burnt my whole body.
The water cooked my nail beds and my feet.
Then someone redressed me in my pyjamas and put me back to bed.
The pain was unbearable, and I died the next day.
I am Jordan.
I am dead.
 
 
Eleven children whose lives were forever altered or ended by violent acts of commission or omission. They are not numbers, they are unique and precious lives. As Child Protection Week begins, their stories are a timely reminder that if it takes a village to raise a child, it only takes one person to change or end a life. We tell their stories so we will never forget.
 

• This article was written by Robyn Wolfson Vorster and Talia-Jade Magnes and was first published in Daily Maverick website

Photo Courtesy: toysforafrica.org.za

Five Free State schoolboys have appeared in court for raping their 13-year-old classmate.

The Grade 7 boy was raped at a school in Thaba Nchu‚ the provincial education department confirmed on Tuesday. The incident took place last week.

"It was after school and the victim was heading out when he was allegedly called by a group of boys. These boys have been causing a reign of terror at the school‚" said department spokesman Howard Ndaba.

To read the article titled, "Thaba Nchu schoolboy raped by five classmates" click here

Five men aged from 22 to 41 were charged on Wednesday over a suspected acid attack on a three-year-old boy in Britain.

The boy was taken to hospital with serious burns to his arm and face following the attack outside a store in Worcester, central England, on Saturday.

To read the article titled, "Five charged over 'acid attack' on three-year-old UK boy" click here

When her monthly period comes, 17-year-old Maria Chaodza dismantles a home-made pillowcase and picks out pieces of its worn stuffing - an old, cloth rug - which she uses in place of the sanitary pad she cannot afford.

Menstruation means missing school; Chaodza feels too ashamed of her makeshift pad to show her face as she battles days of heavy bleeding.

To read the article titled, "Too poor for periods, Zimbabwe's girls rely on rags, paper, leaves" click here

It came to me as a big surprise that many South African education professionals seem to regard Life Orientation as an insignificant, to some even a worthless part of our education. Many learners also seem to view life orientation as unnecessary, boring and irrelevant. This attitude is not unique to South Africa; a British study showed that more than three-quarters of schools were failing to provide sufficient guidance (life orientation and study- and career development) to pupils in the last few years of secondary education.

Life orientation is aimed at developing and engaging learners in personal, psychological, neuro-cognitive, motor, physical, moral, spiritual, cultural and socio-economic areas, so that they can achieve their full potential in the new democracy of South Africa (Department of Education, 2002; 2003:9). This learning area is furthermore intended to promote social justice, human rights, and inclusiveness, as well as a healthy environment (Department of Education, 2003b:5).

These are worthy educational goals and define in exact terms the gravity of the subject in question. Life Orientation, though not an academic subject, constitutes the glue that binds much of our education, and for that matter, the rest of our life together. The question at heart is not whether life orientation is a worthy subject, but it is rather a challenge to ourselves to find its appropriate space in our education.

International studies show that between 40 and 60 percent school leavers say that they had not received enough study- and career guidance to make informed decisions about their future. This lack of sufficient guidance comes at a high cost to individuals, but also places a heavy burden on the economy. A study by the Dutch National Think Tank estimates a €5 billion price tag for the country, on an annual basis, as a direct- and indirect result of wrong study- and career choices. Add to this the fact that Study- and Career Orientation only forms a small part of our life orientation curriculum, and the urgency and value of the subject quickly morphs into an educational priority. Its value is, in its most rudimentary form undeniable, especially in view of the disturbing level of risk behaviours displayed by children and adolescents. Life Orientation is the only platform from which learners can acquire life skills, democracy skills and vital knowledge about our diverse country and the world.

It is the only space in our education where we can teach our children how to make motivated life choices. 

Give Learners More Ownership in Life Orientation.

There are many factors which influence the delivery of effective Life Orientation. Not only is the learning area broad in scope and akin to an open-ended process of lifelong learning, it is also difficult to scientifically evaluate and measure its outcomes. Problems such as ill-equipped teachers and other educational challenges - a lack of time and resources - contribute to the fact that Life Orientation does not receive the attention it deserves. 

Does this leave us without any solutions? To prepare our learners for the future is not an exact science and can never be fully accomplished within the confines of formal education. Not even the best of parents, let alone teachers, can claim ownership of such a feat. No one can score a 100 percent for the subject. 

We can do better though. The advance of communication technology has created an environment in which young people, without any guidance or supervision, are already able to expand their experience, knowledge and understanding of the world, in ways that goes beyond their formal education. The good, the bad and the ugly.

The challenge to education is not to view the disappearing borders between formal and informal learning as a threat, but rather as a welcome opportunity to expand the formal learning environment in ways never done before; by inviting the business-, industrial and social sector into the classroom, to create structural, collaborative partnerships between schools and the real world. To facilitate a safe environment where learners can take ownership of a vital part of their education (Life Orientation) in a structured fashion and with the support and guidance of their and mentors.

talkUBUNTU has created a learning environment for schools to bridge the gap between learning and working and to create a space where learners can explore the many opportunities, challenges and dilemmas associated with growing up and finding their place in society.

Click on picture

The talkUBUNTU platform is designed as a 'Facebook' for schools, a social media environment familiar to all, especially young people, and developed to support Life Orientation learning. It is a powerful tool in the hands of the Life Orientation teacher and helps to broaden learner's knowledge and understanding of the world.
No school. however good or bad, or for that matter, no teacher, however good or bad, can ever,  given the lack of available roster hours and resources, do justice to a learning areas as broad as Life Orientation. By giving ownership of this vitally important area of learning to learners, we all can go a long way towards supporting the personal-, social- and study- & career development of our youth. All it takes a bit of creativity, courage and trust.
 

• This article was written by Johan Allers, Founder, talkUBUNTU Foundation.

Photo Courtesy: www.york.ac.uk