It was a day of jubilation, smiles and tears of joy when KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development celebrated top achievers of Matric Class of 2020 who were under its care and protection.
The majority of these children were coming from Child and Youth Care Centres, Temporary Safe Care, Foster Care Placements, with some placed in alternative care placements.
The top achievers were awarded certificates of recognition, trophies, laptop computers and R5 000 vouchers to use to buy necessities for their tertiary education.
Speaking at the celebration ceremony at Isibaya Casino, north of Durban, Social Development MEC, Mrs Nonhlanhla Khoza, said government was intent on restoring the dignity of all people.
"We are the government that wants to see all our children succeed in life, regardless of race, colour and creed.
We are committed to opening equal opportunities for all people as we are a government for everyone. We are very proud that today our vulnerable children who were placed in alternative care performed very well in matric," she said.
MEC Khoza said the high levels of poverty, unemployment, family disintegration, increase in the spread of HIV and Aids and the high number of parents dying young, have resulted in the increased number of orphans, abandoned babies, high levels of abuse, neglect and exploitation of children.
"We take these children from foundation phase of Early Child Development, school levels to higher education. We believe that education is an investment and is fundamental for nation-building and unity in our country. Our top achievers have accepted a challenge not to allow their situation to determine their future," said MEC Khoza.
The Department has successfully demonstrated that the provision of social grants to families living below the poverty line has yielded positive results as children coming from those families do not only remain in schools, but are able to further their studies, said MEC Khoza.
"These children qualify to enter tertiary institutions and this has been made possible by working together with the Department of Basic Education, South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), the National Student Financial Aids Scheme and the private sector that awarded our children bursaries," she said.
She said they wanted to invest in education of the poor.
"Over the years, we have come to the realisation that most orphaned, abused, neglected and exploited children have had disturbing and traumatic incidences in their lives.
They have not experienced reliable and satisfying relationships with adults in their immediate environment."
MEC Khoza also congratulated social workers and caregivers for keeping up with the demand to ensure development of the children under their care.
Bongumenzi Mchunu from KwaMaphumulo, who has been under Child Foster Care programme, achieved eight distinctions in his matric and he is doing Medicine at University of KwaZulu-Natal.
MEC for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Bongi Sithole-Moloi, who is also the Social Cluster Chairperson, applauded the children for not allowing their situation to determine their future. She encouraged children to also venture into a variety of careers within the agriculture space.
"Our government has unlocked a lot of opportunities for our children. We want to see the future of these children shining brighter. We will ensure that we expose our children to the field of agriculture."
About 2 382 children in alternative care enrolled for matric examination in 2020 and 1 368 of them passed with flying colours.
The majority of them are in different tertiary institutions across the county doing Medicine and Actuarial Science studies, among other fields.
The department committed itself to continue tracking down these children and monitor their performances even at universities.
