Gauteng
29 May 2006
All South Africans must participate and intensify the promotion of
children's rights and child protection, says Social Development Minister Zola
Skweyiya.
He told guests at the launch of Child Protection Week in Alexandra,
Johannesburg, that a lot still needed to be done by all to promote children's
rights. The launch was also attended by the Gauteng MEC for Social Development
Kgoagelo Lekgoro.
The theme for year's Child Protection Week is "Caring Communities Protect
Children", with the green ribbon as the symbol of child protection. The concept
of "my child is your child; your child is my child" remains the cornerstone of
child protection in the country.
The purpose of the launch was to raise awareness about children's rights and
inform the community about child protection.
"It takes a village to raise a child, and the achievements we have scored so
far result from the co-operation of all sectors and communities," said
Skweyiya.
Skweyiya however raised concern about ongoing media reports about children
in distress, and emphasised the need to strengthen families to provide a strong
social foundation for children.
"A well functioning family socialises and teaches children acceptable
societal norms and values. Children are nurtured, supported and provided with
opportunities for growth and development into competent, productive, loved and
loving adults.
Such families are able to ensure that members, especially children, women
and the elderly, are nurtured and protected from any form of abuse," he
said.
He also raised concern at the increasing levels of substance abuse and child
criminality. "A worrying trend is that first time substance and drug users are
now between the ages of nine and ten. Even more worrying is that criminal
offenders are also getting younger," said Skweyiya.
Lekgoro said it was up to everyone to work together and help create an
environment in which children grew and flourished. "The well-being of our
children lies in the hands of all of us. It is up to each individual, each
neighbour, each family and each community to take a stand to protect our most
cherished and valuable asset our future, our children," he said.
Key objectives of the 2006 Child Protection Week include promoting the
National Child Protection Register and encourage reporting of abuse incidents
through this register to improve statistics of victim and perpetrators.
"Our ultimate aim is to close gaps in service delivery. To effectively do so
families and communities must take responsibility. We therefore encourage
increased usage of the register to report incidents of any form of abuse," said
Skweyiya.
Other objectives include promoting the spirit of caring communities by
raising awareness on child care initiatives such as child care forums and
neighbourhood child protection committees, strengthening inter-sectoral
coordination and integration of services by facilitating the establishment of
provincial and local child protection committees; and promoting access to the
child support grant for children under the age of 14 years, and promote and
strengthen poverty eradication programmes as a measure of child protection.
MEC Lekgoro will again on Thursday, 1 June, host the celebration of the
International Children's Day and launch the Child Protection Week in
Sedibeng.
Last year saw Premier Mbhazima Shilowa launch the Gauteng Bana Pele
programme which is a single-window package of free services aimed at improving
the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable children in the province. It is in
line with the provincial government's commitment to build an effective and
caring government and to make Gauteng a province fit for children.
The programme enabled children at schools in the very poorest communities to
be exempt from paying school fees and to receive free meals at school. Grade 1
children also receive free school uniforms.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
29 May 2006
