Bernadette Nel-Naude, community development manager at Atlas Security in Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred, is offering free safety and basic self-defence workshops to children at various schools in Nelson Mandela Bay to empower them to safeguard themselves.
Nel-Naude said the safety of women and children had always been her greatest passion and with being a mother of four, her determination to empower her children and the children of others, prompted her to offer free basic safety and self-defence workshops when requested by various schools in the Bay.
In addition, she has also offered workshops to different communities, businesses, and associations throughout the Eastern Cape.
“Due to recently reported child abduction incidents within South Africa and news of child trafficking rearing its ugly head again, I think it’s time we have this conversation. Even though keeping your kids safe while at home is a priority for all parents, it may not always be possible to keep a watchful eye when they away from home,” said Nel-Naude.
“The safety and self-defence workshops that we offer are a way for us to give back to our community.”
For the past three years Nel-Naude, together with her team at Atlas Security, have been offering workshops which are divided into two parts and consist of a presentation about the importance of self-defence and a basic self-defence demonstration.
“In the first part of the workshop we talk about what you can do to safeguard yourself and how to avoid getting into a situation. In the second part we teach people basic manoeuvres that can be used to possibly assist in getting out of different situations safely,” said Nel-Naude.
“During the workshops there are no martial arts or special moves. It really is just the basic of the basics.”
She said during the workshops, they advised children to always find an obstacle between themselves and the person chasing them which would give them enough time to shout for help.
In addition, they also highlighted the importance of screaming ‘fire’ instead of ‘help’ when they are in danger as people are more likely to react to a different sound.
Nel-Naude said women and children are unfortunately seen as easy targets and it was therefore important for them to learn how to safeguard themselves and avoid falling victims to crime.
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“The more you can empower yourself the less likely you are going to become another statistic,” she said.
Apart from attending their safety and self-defence workshops, Nel-Naude said it was also important for parents to have regular conversations with their children about child abduction because knowledge and awareness were always the first line of defence.
“Talking about it and making your child aware of what to look out for could possibly save their life,” she said.
Tips to ensure children remain safe:
- Make up a code word with your children. Teach them to use it when they are away from you and in an unsafe situation. When you hear the code word, immediately go get them.
- Teach your children to scream out things that would alarm others like ‘fire’ rather than just ‘help’.
- Throw out your children’s personalised backpacks and lunch boxes. Don’t make it easy for criminals to know your child’s name. Kids are more likely to trust someone who knows their names.
- Should a car be following them, teach them to run in the opposite direction and to a place of safety.
- Never keep body secrets. If someone tells them to keep a secret involving body parts, they must tell you.
- If a child feels lost or unsafe and there is no one in uniform close by, tell your child to find another mom with kids.
- Teach your kids that if a stranger wants to abduct them, all manners are out of the window and that ‘no’ is also an answer.
- Monitor your child’s internet usage.
- Teach children to stay in groups.
To book a safety and self-defence workshop, e-mail Atlas Security on info@atlas24.co.za or follow Bernadette Nel-Naude Page on Facebook page for dates and locations for various workshops.
