​Children spend more time at school than at home, therefore, they need to be safe from any form of violence and bullying. To tackle these social issues, on Saturday, the Gauteng Department of Social Development through its psychosocial support unit engaged learners from various schools around Sedibeng at JC Kotze Hall in Sebokeng in a bid to find solutions on challenges faced by learners at schools.
Speaking to about 100 learners social work manager Khumo Kgomoeswana said violence in schools, bullying and high statistic of teenage pregnancy in the province are worrisome and create a bleak future for our children.

“Boys and girls love yourselves and strive for a better future, you are still young, focus on your studies and strive to become whatever that you want to be in life. Do not do things that will make you live to regret for the rest of your life. Respect yourself and respect your body”, said Kgomoeswana.

She said although being young can be tricky sometimes, learners must refuse to fall into the trap of failure by engaging in things that are less important for their age. She encouraged young women to be brave enough to be themselves and not succumbed to peer pressure.

“When I was a young girl, people used to say I am boring because I did not have a boyfriend and I was focusing on my studies, but I was brave enough to reject that notion and with that, I managed to get to the university at the age of 16 years and I encourage everyone of you to do that and I can assure you that it is possible”, added Kgomoeswana.

Teenagers were later divided into four groups to deliberate on topics including gender-based violence, patriarchy, bullying, and teenage pregnancy, and also the impact of all these factors on learners in schools. They engaged on the challenges and tried to come up with solutions to these problems that they face daily.

A 16-year-old Luyanda Ntweni from Bophelong High School applauded the department’s efforts to engage with learners and said the programme is very informative and it gives learners a proper platform to engage and interact with other learners from different schools in a quest to address problems that they are facing in schools.

“We appreciate this opportunity, and I am hopeful that it will help us with all the challenges we face in schools and I am positive that my fellow learners will take a message out of this engagement today to their respective schools”, he said.

Social Work supervisor Patricia Malinga said they aim to continuously provide these youngsters with a platform where they can ventilate and share their challenges and help the department to come up with concrete solutions to their problems.

“We need to acknowledge the effect the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the lockdown period, has had on the emotional well-being of teachers, learners, and parents. It is therefore important to raise awareness regarding learners’ needs for psycho-social support and the value such support will have for learner reintegration and teaching” Malinga concluded.