National Child Protection Week, from 29 May to 5 June, was the ultimate opportunity for Khula Development Group to put the spotlight on bullying. The non-profit organisation conducted various activities at Orleansvale Primary, New Orleans Primary, Nederburg Primary, Magnolia Primary and Paarlzicht Primary throughout the past week.
Bianca Petersen, who is the communications manager at Khula, says some of the activities included lessons on bullying as part of the School2Home and Love2Learn programmes, drama competitions for different age groups, making posters and colouring. The colouring page was especially designed for Khula.
“One of the push factors of school disengagement is bullying. Thus, the organisation celebrated National Child Protection Week under the theme “Build or Break”, proclaiming the message that we must build children, instead of breaking them down.
“This anti-bullying campaign raised awareness about the various types of bullying and empowered learners, parents and educators with tips on what to do when bullying occurs.”
During last week’s activities Khula also constantly used the hashtag #BuddiesNotBullies. Last Thursday (2 June) Khula worked together with another local organisation, Light & Salt, at Orleansvale Primary where learners also had a fun walk. The fun walk was part of the Child Protection Week awareness and the learners walked the streets of Chicago with the posters they had made.
Khula has been active in Paarl and Stellenbosch since 2004. Their mission is to strengthen the value of education and school attendance for children who are at risk of school disengagement.
Petersen says there are various socio-economic factors that contribute to learners dropping out of the school system, and the pandemic has become one of the reasons. According to Unicef out-of-school children in South Africa tripled from 250 000 to 750 000 between March 2020 and July 2021. To tackle these issues that keep children out of school Khula runs three programmes:. School2Home provides school and home-based support for learners who present early warning signs of an increased risk of school disengagement. The programme also promotes learner and parents’ engagement in the child’s education.. Love2Learn promotes a culture of learning and strengthen the value of education and attendance through child and primary caregiver participation, youth activation and community collaboration.. Child Well-being Service supports the two above mentioned community programmes. The goal is to support vulnerable children through preventative interventions and collaboration with the aim to reduce risk of significant harm that impacts their safety, school engagement and well-being.
Petersen further added that they have collaborated with other role players last week, who also facilitated anti-bullying projects. “Therefore, we would like to thank the department of social development in Paarl East, Salt and Light, Renew Your Mind, Western Cape Education Department home-based learning, Young Stars, Fountain of Hope and Drakenstein Library for taking hands to stand up against bullying. We are excited to see how this anti-bullying message and projects will impact the lives of children and communities in a positive manner.”
