OVER 190 Mpumalanga teachers are being trained to counsel children who are raped and abused.
Nokuthula Ndlovu of Lekazi Primary School in Kanyamazane near Nelspruit is one of 195 teachers undergoing nine months of training. “The training is important because we’ve encountered problems with children who have been abused. Girls as young as 13 years have been raped by relatives or their step fathers,” she said. “We didn’t understand what was wrong with the children and kept accusing them of not paying attention.”
The child eventually confided in Ndlovu and told her that her stepfather had been raping her for months, and said Ndlovu was the first person she told. She and a social worker are now helping the girl adjust. The child was always passive and withdrawn in class. “She did not want anyone to come close to her,” she said. Now she’s slowly starting to socialise with other children.
No legal action has been taken against the stepfather because the child’s aunt, who has taken the girl to live with her, insisted that charges not be laid.
“There are many rape, abuse and family violence cases at our school and we thank the government for giving us the training,” Ndlovu said. Zanele Mthombothi, provincial co-ordinator of the teachers training project said teachers were like parents at school.
“Teachers are like parents at school, some parents do not spend time with their children and they don’t know what trouble their children are facing,” she said.
With training, teachers will be able to identify problems more easily. “Children need their protection and a shoulder to lean on,” she said.
— African Eye News Service, June 14, 2000.