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2019

Calvin’s story

A young man decides to be his best self.

Calvin Kamphinda, a young man of 15 years old, started attending Uthando centre in 2016. Coming from the inner-city of Johannesburg and raised in difficult circumstances, he adopted the violent behaviour he saw around him. He became a bully not only to his peers and classmates but to his teacher as well. One day in class, when his teacher made a xenophobic statement he threatened her with a knife. After that incident he was expelled from school. He started attending another one, but his act of violence followed him wherever he went. His peers were afraid of him, and he was isolated at home, and at school. Calvin felt like he was approaching a mental breakdown, feeling lonely and disappointed in himself. During that period his parents gave him one piece of advice in the form of a question, “is this the kind of life you want for yourself?” It stuck with him. He made a decision to always do the right thing, and then his journey to being a better version of himself has begun. What helped him was coming to Afrika Tikkun’s Uthando Center every day.

“In my environment it’s not always easy to do the right thing – especially because of

the way some people treat you.” These days Calvin has found a sense of purpose and value in encouraging his peers. He spends his afternoons giving motivational talks to younger learners, and guiding them like a big brother.


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2019

Rorisang Mokoena

Rorisang Mokoena (11 years old) began her journey with Afrika Tikkun when she was just

out of nappies, coming every day to the Early Childhood Development Programme. Today she is in Grade 4 and part of the Child and Youth Development Programme.

Rorisang has enthusiastically attended the centre ever since she joined; and in 2017, she became the youngest Peer Educator in the whole of Afrika Tikkun. She also received a CYD award last year for Best Academic Results.

“Being a peer educator has groomed me to teach my peers how to speak out whenever

they are facing abuse or any other issues at home and at school,” said Rorisang.

Rorisang is one of the best speakers in the Programme, and was chosen to represent

Arekopaneng Centre at Thetha FM to talk about bullying in schools.

One day, she would like to study Electrical Engineering, so that she can combat the

electrical issues faced by the Orange Farm community.


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2019

The Development Sector 2020

– by Onyi Nwaneri, Senior Executive Afrika Tikkun

Afrika Tikkun is an NGO that is passionate about developing young people together with likeminded partners, through innovative and enterprising ways, to impact the economy of South Africa.

Non-profits play a key role in filling the gaps of government shortfalls with regard to social services for citizens. They also play a crucial role in the policy development process, policy advocacy and the representation of minority views. Unfortunately, the non-profit sector in South Africa currently faces many challenges despite the country facing increasing developmental problems in areas including health, education and poverty alleviation.

The private sector is equally making a significant contribution to address these social challenges. According to the Trialogue 2019 Business in Society Handbook the total estimated CSI expenditure in 2019 was R10.2 billion and the most supported sectors were education, social and community development, food security and health – in that order.

An Industry in Transformation

The global recession, local economic factors, reduced government funding and support, an increase in charitable causes, declining trust and public scrutiny have all hampered the fundraising efforts of non-profit organisations (NPOs). In addition, non-profits contend with limited resources and increased demands due to continually increasing needs in the communities in which they operate.

To overcome this challenge, non-profit organisations and charities will need to ensure they remain innovative when competing for funding. Being able to measure and report results based on outcomes as opposed to activities will be key to keeping donors on board.

One of the best ways to ensure the survival of the non-profit sector in South Africa is for NPO’s to run their charities like a business, so as not to be solely reliant on donations. Earned income will be a growing trend in 2020.

Improved transparency within the sector is also critical. Over the past few years, NPO scandals across the globe have tarred the entire sector with the same brush of mistrust. However, this is also one of the reasons that there is a need for standard transparency and accountability regulations in the country. In South Africa there are no required accountability regulations apart from that which the charity organisation chooses for itself, which it has to its donors and the laws of the country. Accountability and transparency are a shared undertaking informed by a social contract in which a fundamental principle is to “do no harm”. The more this principle is shared and upheld, the brighter the hope for the people we serve.

The world is changing. NPO’s are not exempt from having to move with the times, embrace new technology and understand how young people are using this technology for stronger self-expression. For instance, in our area of development, we have seen how disillusioned the youth are with the political process as a vehicle for change. Social media is the way that many young people are now making their voices heard in terms of social activism. NPO’s should be monitoring these trends and using these as tools of transformation and mobilisation.

There must be a more holistic and integrated approach to social upliftment in general with NPO’s interacting/collaborating/partnering with one another to widen the net of who, when and how many they are able to support and the scale of their impact. Working in siloed fields does not achieve the same results as an all-inclusive method.

Sustainability and Social Investment

Earned income contributes to an organisation’s sustainability, even as a diversity of funding sources, including those from traditional funders, may still be necessary for sustained financial health.

A lot more needs to be done to build a stronger society in South Africa and how we achieve this hinges on the involvement of all parties in the country, including government, civil society, private business and ordinary people.

Corporate citizenship, the investment a business makes in the local community or society as a whole, has become of utmost importance. Working together to develop a pipeline of young people who are well positioned to acquire the scarce and critical skills our country needs is crucial in addressing today’s most challenging issues. The call is for more companies to see CSI as a strategic instrument for economy and nation building, and not the traditional charity and welfare lens from which this has been seen in the past. It is important to emphasize that corporate citizenship cuts across all players in the private sector, from SMMEs to big business. We can all contribute something in line with our resources.

It is encouraging to see that a number of companies are already doing this. For these companies CSI and Skills Development considerations are now becoming a part of their business strategies. Yet still more can be done, be it financially or in kind with programmes such as employee volunteerism and mentorship etc. More efforts on tracking results, measuring impact and investing in long-term outcomes must also take root among companies making social investments.

In order to start achieving this, the need for businesses to shift into being more conscious is therefore critical. Conscious companies are transformational organisations that are authentic in their purpose, ethical in their dealings and responsible with their relationships. They should value the people, communities and environments in which they operate and show appreciation for hardworking and passionate staff and volunteers. This, I believe, should be part of the mission of all companies in the country if we are to see lasting change. As another colleague of mine would put it, we have moved away from an era where companies should transition from core focus on shareholder value to shared value. Shared value is ultimately the strategy for developing the future market while also strengthening economies, the marketplace, communities, and corporate coffers.

Mark Kramer and Michael Porters numerous works in this area emphatically challenge us by shaping the thinking that “giving away money is very different from solving a social problem.” We encourage companies and foundations to think differently about their philanthropic goals, strategy and implementation of the systems and process to achieve those goals. For example, big business can support small business, and responsible business practices all round can drive societal development.

Education and eLearning

Learning needs to evolve to include current digital advancements, to embrace specific new learning styles and technologies that will engross learners of different age groups.

New technologies have introduced changing educational tools such as classroom smartboards, the use of tablets, educational gamification, and the opportunity for online homework submissions. In addition, it’s helping keep schools and students safer with some schools installing fingerprint technology and CCTV’s in classrooms. WhatsApp is also increasingly being used as a tool for teachers and parents to share and stay connected.

Of course, eLearning has made knowledge acquisition more accessible, enabling young people to become more empowered.

However, with this it is also important to combine traditional class-based learning that encourages face-to-face interactions, empathy and compassion for others, communications skills and relationships with classmates that ultimately result in well-rounded people. Blended learning should really be at the core of our change and digital transformation efforts in education.

With the pending Fourth Industrial Revolution and the need for more learners to enter STEM subjects and the IT/ICT industries, we need to all work together to ensure that all young people are increasingly introduced to subjects such as computer sciences and coding from an earlier age.

In conclusion, it’s fair to say that whilst the non-profit landscape in South Africa faces many challenges; monitoring the industry, embracing new trends and encouraging all of society to play their part will result in a more optimistic and secure future for the sector and its beneficiaries.

Business and government have commensurate roles to play, government in creating an enabling environment through driving balanced policies aimed at influencing the development of  the South Africa we want and the country we need; business and the funding sector taking increasing steps to leveraging CSI/CSR, BBBEE, philanthropy and similar legislations to achieve strategic business and country priorities.

In my mind if we can find alignment and common purpose across all sectors, we will be on the right path towards the transformation we all seek.



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2019

Bright Leader Awoken – Brutus Maake

Many give up once they fail. Not Brutus Maake. After failing Grade 9 in 2017, Brutus saw this as an opportunity to seek help. He heard about Afrika Tikkun from friends and decided to visit the centre and find out more. A a week later Brutus enrolled in the CYD programme.

Two years into the journey, 19 year old Brutus is in Grade 11 and sees a great improvement in his academics. However, for everyone around him, the biggest surprise was Brutus evolving from a shy young man to a great, outspoken leader. Brutus says Afrika Tikkun has not only helped him acquire skills but also helped him to discover his true strength. From someone who never thought he had anything to offer, Brutus, once he began working with the facilitators and his peers, realised that his past failures do not define him. With pride, he now serves as a mentee at camps and also a Junior Social Researcher. Brutus sees himself as a great lawyer one day but also serving his community, perhaps as a respected politician and public speaker.

Brutus’s brilliance and leadership shone through the 2019 Quiz and Debate Competition as he led his debating team to victory.



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2019

Is corporate citizenship the answer to youth unemployment?

According to the UN, there are 1.2 billion young people aged 15 – 24 years across the world, which accounts for 16% of the global population. They are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than adults and continuously exposed to lower quality jobs and greater labour market inequalities. In addition, it is young women who more likely to be unemployed or underpaid, causing them to accept part-time or temporary contract work. Like Afrika Tikkun, the UN believes that the active engagement of youth in sustainable development efforts is central to achieving inclusive and stable societies and preventing challenges such as unemployment, poverty, gender inequality and conflict.

Relative to South Africa, Statistics SA confirms the above facts in their latest Labour Force Survey reporting that ‘the working age population (15 – 64 years) in South Africa increased by 149,000 in the first quarter of 2019’. This would be good news for most countries; however, in South Africa ‘the unemployment rate between Q1 2019 and Q4 2018 also increased due to a decline of 237,000 in the number of people in employment’. In this same report it is stated that ‘of the 20,3 million young people aged 15-34 years, 40.7% were not in employment, education or training (NEET) – an increase of 1.8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018’. Unemployment in the country is at an all-time high. This is not good news.

So how do we as individuals and organisations address this issue and contribute to a viable and sustainable solution? Obviously, we cannot create hundreds of thousands of jobs out of thin air and we cannot rely solely on government to achieve this either.

In 2018, Bonang Mohale, CEO at Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), published a book titled Lift as you rise, in which he talked about the concept of Ubuntu and acting for the greater good of our fellow countrymen. The sentiments published in this book are directly related to how we as a people can be part of positive change. In his book he says, “You don’t have to wait until you are called a chairman, CEO or managing director – extend a hand and lift someone who is slightly less fortunate than yourself. That’s how you build a people” … “I have tried to live my life with these old family values, the same way my grandmother brought me up in saying lift others as you rise because that is what is required and expected of you” … “Selflessness is a notion that says I will do it even though no one is watching, I will do it even though there is no recognition and I will do it because it is a moral obligation”. Inspirational words to say the least, and certainly a goal that we should all be aspiring to.

The answer to the question therefore lies in working together to develop a pipeline of young people who are well positioned to take on the scarce and critical skills our country needs, as well as be able to engage and meaningfully fulfil the requirements of the jobs of the future.

The key to achieving this lies in corporate citizenship – the investment a business makes in the local community or society as a whole. Corporate citizenship cuts across all players in the private sector, from SMMEs to big business.

Internships and work experience programmes, for example, are arguably one of the best ways to stimulate job creation. It is an effective way to integrate unemployed and inexperienced youth into the formal economy and assist them to improve their long-term career prospects. By arming them with practical work experience. And businesses can benefit too: internships allow businesses to increase staff quantity at a relatively low cost and increase staff quality by growing their talent pool and training up youth for specific placements. Thus enabling interns to add value to the core business.

In the long term, businesses can be an invaluable part of the unemployment solution in South Africa. As we know, with increased levels of employment a country fairs better on all fronts – job creation lends itself to strengthening social development and increased spending power means a thriving economy; all in all, a more optimistic life for all citizens. It is a win-win and it is clear: skills advancement and practical work experience, plus corporate citizenship means more opportunities for young people.

This is most certainly what the father of our nation intended when he took office, “driven by an unshakeable belief in the equality of all people”. Established in 1994, it was in 1999 that the then Tikkun ‘project’ was visited by former president Nelson Mandela, who was so impressed by what he saw that he volunteered to become its Patron-in-Chief. Years later and Afrika Tikkun is a fully-fledged Not for Profit company and organisation with public benefit status, still living up to the inspiring ideologies of Tata Madiba: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”.

With corporate citizenship and conscious leadership on the rise South Africa is on a trajectory for success, but it will take the entire country and all her people as a single unit to solve the crisis of unemployment and keep that trajectory true to its course.

[1] http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=12115



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2019

The Young Winners of Afrika Tikkun’s Annual Spelling Bee

On Saturday, 26 October 2019 Afrika Tikkun hosed an annual academic competition – a Spelling Bee aimed at young people in their Child and Youth Development (CYD) programme aged seven to eighteen.

 

Amongst other interventions, the event serves to inspire learning and improve literacy. CEO of Afrika Tikkun Services, Onyi Nwaneri says, “Literacy is fundamental to learning. It is the foundation of education. When we teach children to read and write, we instil a love for learning and equip them with skills that will be used throughout their lives. We cannot stress enough the importance of literacy in a child’s development”.

In addition, the Spelling Bee encourages the development of a range of cognitive proficiencies including the ability to handle pressure, public speaking capabilities and knowledge retention. Beyond this, it develops self-confidence and aids young people in learning concepts and life skills.

Congratulations to the young winners of this year’s Spelling Bee:

  • 7 – 9 years: Ntokozo Mtshali from Arekopaneng Centre in Orange Farm
  • 10 – 12 years: Siyabonga Malazi from Uthando Centre in Braamfontein
  • 13 – 15 years: Aviwe Makhaba from Arekopaneng Centre, Orange Farm
  • 16 – 18 years: Katlego Fobane from Phutaditjaba Centre, Alexandra

For more information on Afrika Tikkun and their initiatives call 011 325 5914, email info@afrikatikkun.org or visit www.afrikatikkun.org.



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2019

Encouraging literacy spells a future of success for SA youth

During the month of October, Afrika Tikkun hosts two annual academic competitions aimed at young people in their Child and Youth Development (CYD) programme aged seven to eighteen. Amongst other interventions, these two particular events inspire learning and improves literacy by providing young people with a positive goal to work towards and a forum in which they can showcase the fruits of their labour.

 

 

“Literacy is fundamental to learning”, says CEO of Afrika Tikkun Services, Onyi Nwaneri. “It is the foundation of education. When we teach children to read and write, we instil a love for learning and equip them with skills that will be used throughout their lives. We cannot stress enough the importance of literacy in a child’s development”.

The first competition was the Annual Quiz and Debate – two separate competitions under one umbrella that bring to life the subjects of history, geography, world events and current affairs. Both provide young people with the opportunity to develop their critical and creative thinking, information literacy skills and problem-solving abilities. It presents an opportunity for young people to work within a team to offer logical arguments and requires a skill set that translates directly into academic, social and professional application that stays with them into adulthood.

The second annual event is the Spelling Bee – an important educational tool used by schools worldwide to improve not only the vocabulary and spelling of learners, but also comprehension and study skills. In addition, the Spelling Bee encourages the development of a range of cognitive proficiencies including the ability to handle pressure, public speaking capabilities and knowledge retention.

Both of these activities extend beyond language as they aid young people in learning concepts and life skills. For example, during the Spelling Bee competition young people are required to speak on stage in front of a crowd, which develops their self-confidence. The team Quiz and Debate encourages children to interact with their fellow participants and cultivate friendships.

Both competitions stimulate brain activity and afford young people the opportunity to engage in healthy competition. They teach youth to accept their mistakes whilst also providing the recognition that their hard work deserves.

 

For both events this year Afrika Tikkun has had the support of Rookie USA ZA, a kids only multi-brand online retail destination offering a collection of iconic apparel brands such as Converse, Nike, Jordan, Hurley and Levi. With a focus on young people, Rookie USA is the perfect partner for events focused on developing the youth. Their involvement in 2019 includes sponsoring prizes as well as a monetary donation of R50,000, meeting their target of a R1,000 donation per social media post by a well-known South African influencer. Rookie USA Brand and Marketing Manager, Lee-Anne McKenzie says, “We are privileged to have been a part of Afrika Tikkun’s initiatives. There is no better feeling than impacting young people’s lives in a profound way. We hope that this is the start of a prosperous relationship between Rookie USA and Afrika Tikkun, it makes us smile to see the new friendships established with the kids”.

Other sponsors included HSBC, BIC and Egon Zehnder; all supporters of South African youth development.

Afrika Tikkun’s Child and Youth Development (CYD) programme runs a range of holistic interventions which create an environment that inspires learning and growth. These two events form only a fraction of the annual activities Afrika Tikkun hosts in order to raise intelligent and strong young people that will enter the working world as productive citizens.

Nwaneri concludes, “Interventions such as these surely spell success for the future of Afrika Tikkuns young people”.

For more information on Afrika Tikkun and their initiatives call 011 325 5914, email info@afrikatikkun.org or visit www.afrikatikkun.org.



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2019

Hair, beauty graduates demonstrate skills

Cape Town – Thirteen girls from the Cape Flats graduated through the Afrika Tikkun strategic empowerment programme aimed at training disadvantaged youth for job and business opportunities.

These girls, who graduated in hair and beauty, showcased the quality of their skills at a promotion at McQueens Salon in Sea Point on Tuesday.

This project is part of Afrika Tikkun’s career development programme, which aims to provide unemployed youth with the skills to operate a home-based salon.

This non-profit organisation just celebrated its 25th birthday and operates five centres in townships in Joburg and Cape Town.

Shaun Unterslak, who runs this empowerment programme on behalf of Afrika Tikkun, said: “My aim is to assist young black people to find gainful employment in the suburbs, in this case from the Cape Flats, and show them they have what it takes to succeed in the suburbs, as this has a huge impact on their communities, which are Mfuleni, Delft and Blue Downs. With December being the peak period in this industry, it is a perfect time to notify salons of the availability of skilled therapists. These young people have the necessary skills, however, not everyone has the ability to do their own marketing and build a business.

“That’s how we get in.”

Graduate Zoliwe Thame, 30, from Mfuleni, said: “I am passionate about hair and make-up and the programme has equipped me with the necessary valuable training and skills that will help me in this demanding and competitive field.

“Ultimately I want to open my own salon in my township while creating job opportunities for other girls.”




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2019

Day of the Girl Child 2019

Taking boys into account this International Day of the Girl Child

The world celebrates International Day of the Girl Child annually on 11 October. It aims to acknowledge the needs and challenges of girls around the world whilst also promoting empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights. But with all the focus around the Girl Child, are we missing an important piece of the puzzle: the Boy Child?

Onyi Nwaneri, CEO of Afrika Tikkun Services says, “As a society we have made great headway with spreading the message of women empowerment. The change will come as a result of continuous communication, when the young people of today grow up with a different mentality toward women and children. But in this mission, we must not forget about the boy child. We must acknowledge that you cannot have a holistic girl child without a rounded boy child”.

Notable figures agree. SA Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, “Blade” Nzimande recently said, “It’s been correct to focus on the girl child, but now it is equally important to focus on the boy child because your main perpetrators of violence are men and we need to combat this early by focusing on the boy child”.

Professor Kopano Ratele from the Institute of Social and Health Sciences (ISHS) at the University of South Africa (UNISA) – best known for his work on issues of identity, violence, sexuality and masculinity – believes that “we should be giving girl children this education to be independent, but you have to give boy children an education to be kind, egalitarian, feminists and fantastic”.

In addition, we have seen the launch of movements such as The Boy-Child campaign by loveLife that aims to start challenging societal norms. They campaign to build young men with values and a healthy respect for themselves and others.

Nwaneri continues, “We are all made to believe that men are a superior social group to women, but we must recognise that the boy child is also a victim: of gender conditioning, socio-cultural norms, bad examples, violence and more. It has been suggested that a neglected boy child generally grows up to be a bigger danger to society than girls. This is the tip of the iceberg, there are so many reasons we should be giving the boy child just as much attention, lik ”.

The recent SAPS Annual Crime Report stated that for the 2017/2018 period 985 children were murdered across the country, 691 were boys and 294 were girls.

Afrika Tikkun believes that the development of all children equally is of the utmost importance. Their internal policies, Cradle to Career 360° model and periphery campaigns are geared toward all Afrika Tikkun’s young people. They are advocates of children’s rights as written in the Constitution of South Africa and they exist to meet the basic needs of all young people, including stability, safety and belonging.

Interventions to help develop young boys cannot be overstated. The need for education around patriarchy and how to better channel aggression and anger is crucial. Remedies like CBD for kids go a long way in promoting natural ways to reduce the anger and anxiety in children. Inclusive policies towards empowerment and equality for all is vital. And these activations must be employed in every household, school and community in the country.

For more information on Afrika Tikkun and their initiatives call 011 325 5914, email info@afrikatikkun.org or visit www.afrikatikkun.org.




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2019

Violence is everyone’s problem

– Marc Lubner, CEO Afrika Tikkun

The 2nd of October marks the International Day of Non-Violence. The occasion is intended to share the message of non-violence through education and public awareness, thereby encouraging a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding.

Fairly recently, South Africa experienced a harrowing week of events that sent shockwaves around the country, shaking the core of men and women far and wide. Taking a stand against gender-based violence and crimes against children, surely the question on everyone’s lips right now is, ‘where has our humanity gone’? and furthermore, what are we teaching the future generation with such extreme violence?

The horrific stories of violence and brutality perpetrated against women and children has left the nation trembling and brings to light just how little is being done to safeguard them. In August this year, the first draft of the National Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Strategic Plan was released for public comment, nine months after the National Summit on GBV and Femicide was convened. We understand that strategic and sustainable change takes time. However, women and children continue to be victims of violence while plans are formulated, reviewed, revised and re-formulated, too often becoming dust collectors while waiting to be implemented.

We adopted the constitution in 1996 and 23 years later, we still aren’t protecting the rights of children adequately as per Section 28. Migrant children, some who have already experienced trauma in the own home countries, continue to be denied the same freedoms and benefits as South African minors due to funding and red tape.

Another spate of recent xenophobic attacks drew global condemnation, with individuals and governments from our neighbouring African nations so upset by the actions of our people that they began boycotting the country. This, despite the launch of the National Action Plan to combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in March 2019. Again, surely this framework had its roots in the excessively violent attacks that gripped the country in 2008. Why was it over ten years in the making?

The Global Peace Index 2018 ranked South Africa 125th of 163 countries in terms of their peacefulness, below Zimbabwe and Kenya. In 2019, we ranked 127, dropping two spots in only twelve months. This same 2019 Index reported the economic cost of violence to the country to be 13% of our overall GDP. In our current financial climate and with South Africa already moving towards junk status on international credit rating reports, can we afford to be acting so slowly?

The horrific stories of violence and brutality perpetrated against women and children has left the nation trembling and brings to light just how little is being done to safeguard them. In August this year, the first draft of the National Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Strategic Plan was released for public comment, nine months after the National Summit on GBV and Femicide was convened. We understand that strategic and sustainable change takes time. However, women and children continue to be victims of violence while plans are formulated, reviewed, revised and re-formulated, too often becoming dust collectors while waiting to be implemented.

We adopted the constitution in 1996 and 23 years later, we still aren’t protecting the rights of children adequately as per Section 28. Migrant children, some who have already experienced trauma in the own home countries, continue to be denied the same freedoms and benefits as South African minors due to funding and red tape.

Another spate of recent xenophobic attacks drew global condemnation, with individuals and governments from our neighbouring African nations so upset by the actions of our people that they began boycotting the country. This, despite the launch of the National Action Plan to combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in March 2019. Again, surely this framework had its roots in the excessively violent attacks that gripped the country in 2008. Why was it over ten years in the making?

We mark occasions such as the International Day of Non-Violence and Child Protection Week annually, which increases awareness of the problem. However, awareness alone cannot create change; action creates change. With this kind of behaviour rife in the country, should we not be highlighting and actioning the intentions of these short-lived marked occurrences 365 days of the year?

So, the next big question is, ‘what are we to do’?

Formally, multi-sectoral conversations that bring together men, women, young people, civil society organisations, development partners, private sector, academia and government bodies on a solution to violence in the country, need to continue. These should not be limited to physical spaces but within the media and on virtual platforms. Bringing young boys and men into these conversations is a critical element in the fight against gender-based violence in particular.

Informally, teaching the children of today that violence is not the answer and that to speak out and stand against it improves the outlook of a peaceful future, is essential. Research shows that children who are exposed to violence are more likely to suffer from being numb to future violent experiences or becoming violent themselves.

The saying, ‘prevention is better than cure’, is timeless and can be applied to almost every situation, including violence prevention. Prevention must begin at home. If you are aggressive in any way, you need to break the cycle and take responsibility for your actions. Set an example, show children how to change their behaviour and teach them about personal accountability by letting them know their responsibilities.

Young people are at the centre of Afrika Tikkuns being. Section 28 of the constitution is entrenched in our organisation’s mission and culture. With a focus on children, we see many abused and struggling mothers. Working in townships, we interact with African foreign nationals daily. We see how violence is affecting the young people in Afrika Tikkun’s Cradle to Career 360° programme. In every single encounter we strive to live up to the ‘do no harm principle’ and to breathe ‘responsible kindness’. Our central goal is to create a sustainable future for the youth of South Africa, part of which is providing safety and love to the young people in our care, educating them on personal responsibility and alternatives to violent behaviours as well as equipping them with coping mechanisms.

We have proven within our own ecosystem, that it is possible to reduce violent crime significantly and to improve children’s sense of safety. If we can do it in our small world, why can’t our model be emulated nationally?

Before it’s too late, we need to begin the process of establishing constructive individual thought and behaviour patterns for ourselves and the youth of today, the leaders of tomorrow. This crisis is in need of both a prevention and cure. It must be a priority for everyone in South Africa.




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