Johannesburg | Sunday
DURING a week in which the vulnerability of South Africa’s children was highlighted by reports of child rape and dire poverty, the country celebrated its annual National Children’s Day festivities.
Thousands of under-privileged children were invited by their respective provincial governments to attend all-day parties on Saturday, where they were entertained and delighted by soccer and music celebrities.
At Johannesburg’s Zoo Lake, where 35 000 kids were hosted, the day was marred by a tragedy in which two children, a boy and a girl thought to be from Soweto, drowned when their boat capsized on the lake.
”We are so sorry this happened. It was a tragic end to an otherwise wonderful day,” said Panyaza Lesufi, representative for the Gauteng MEC for Social Development.
Lesufi said the boating accident was a clear illustration of just how vulnerable children were.
”They need constant vigilance and we as adults must accept responsibility for that,” he said.
Recent media reports about the horrific rape of a nine-month-old baby in the Northern Cape showed that although there were children’s organisations and caring adults trying to champion the cause of children, there would always be others who would try to derail the process, Lesufi said.
”Part of the reason we celebrate National Children’s Day is to commit ourselves to being shields against any form of brutality for the country’s children.”
In a statement released on National Children’s Day, the Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security (Acess) pointed out that seventy percent of the country’s children still lived in dire poverty.
Organisation representative Paula Proudlock said a nation-wide response to the problem was needed.
”If we are to alleviate the poverty millions of children live in, the Departments of Social Development and Home Affairs need to sit down together to develop an emergency plan,” Proudlock said.
The public should be aware that the shocking poverty ravaging the Mount Frere area in the Eastern Cape, the focus of which formed the subject of a recent television documentary, existed in many other areas of the country as well, she said, adding that one in ten children born in the Eastern Cape died of malnutrition before its first birthday.
She said government needed to face some harsh realities and re-prioritise the allocation of welfare funds to areas in need.
Lesufi said National Children’s Day had aimed to highlight a host of children’s issues.
Various government departments had stalls at the various parties across the country showcasing what they were doing to safeguard the rights of children, he said.
”We need the co-operation of all sectors if we want to make a better future a reality.”
Lesufi said he agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment expressed by a young boy at Zoo Lake, who had said he wished every day could be National Children’s Day. – Sapa