POTCHEFSTROOM — Community stakeholders, led by the Nal’ibali Organization, marched to the Potchefstroom Police Station in the North West Province this week to sign a pledge committing to the protection of children’s rights. The action coincides with South Africa’s Child Protection Week, observed under the theme “Working together in ending violence against children.”
During the event, representatives from community safety structures and the South African Police Service (SAPS) joined the organization in affirming their dedication to creating safer environments for young people.
Prudence Erens, Nal’ibali Organization Programmes Manager, explained the purpose of the advocacy effort: “We took it upon ourselves to utilize this week as well to say this is our advocacy work to make people aware about the importance of safeguarding for children, the importance of maintaining safe spaces for children. We have together with community safety within Potchefstroom together with the SAPS… took up this pledge to say let’s all come together in unity show what our stance is when it comes to the safety, the safeguarding of our children.”
According to Statistics South Africa, more than one million learners have experienced some form of violence at school. While the data also shows a 10% decline in corporal punishment among learners aged five and older between 2009 and 2024, officials note this positive trend is not consistent across all educational settings.
To help children recognize and respond to potential harm, the Nal’ibali team visited Potchefstroom Central School, using storytelling, songs, and illustrations as educational tools.
“Storytelling is an art,” said Erens. “Because of how our children respond when they hear stories and how they learn through storytelling, I think that’s the first form of engagement to teach them about how to keep themselves safe, how to speak up, what are the signs to look out for. Even in the songs, we hear how children adapt to songs and learn them so quickly. And I think that’s another form of engagement that we can use.”
Anna Fourie, ECD Regional Chair, addressed ongoing challenges within early childhood development centers. “Children being beaten and abused at centers. We can’t run away from that. It does happen at our centers that sometimes you hear that at an ECD center a child was really abused… had to be taken to the clinic.”
Fourie urged communities to reshape children’s perceptions of law enforcement: “We encourage parents and adults, people in the community not to scare children. When they see the police, they have to run away because they have to know that the police is their safety. Now if children see police uniform or a van already they run away… if a child is doing something wrong the first thing an adult will say or a parent is [to call the police].”
Parents at the event called for stronger government action to protect children. One caregiver emphasized infrastructure improvements: “We really love our grandchildren and we want to see them very safe. High mast lights in every township with cameras of course and that’s another thing for job creation but our little ones oh they are very close to our hearts.”
Another parent highlighted the importance of education: “They should teach children about the dangers of this world and how to watch for perpetrators to stay away from people who could harm them. Most perpetrators are not strangers, it’s people who are close to them.”
A third caregiver stressed early intervention: “I think we should start to protect our kids from this from childhood, because when they grow up and as teenagers is where they started to use drugs because we neglected them from the childhood.”
The Nal’ibali Organization confirmed that similar Child Protection Week commemorations are underway across the country, aiming to foster nationwide awareness and collective action toward ending violence against children.
