South Africa has committed itself to remain resolute in its Constitutional commitment to its children.
The country has further institutionalised this commitment by ratifying the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 2000, the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2009, and the Optional Protocol on Children involved in Armed Conflict.
Accordingly, the state has an obligation to submit periodic reports to the UN and African Union (AU) respectively.
The department of women, children and people with disabilities (DWCPD) was established with an explicit mandate to promote, co-ordinate, monitor and report on the status of children.
Within this mandate, the DWCPD co-ordinates the development of the reports.
Cabinet approves the reports and the department of international relations and co-operation (DIRCO) deposits the reports to the UN and the AU respectively.
The reports, which were due for submission to the international and regional committees, were developed through a long and substantive consultation process during 2011/2013, including government and civil society in all nine provinces.
The reports are approved by the forum of South African director generals (Fosad) and Parliament.
The consultation processes was invaluable for drafting the reports and ensuring that we meet our reporting obligations to the AU and UN.
However, even more importantly, the process provided the country with the opportunity to conduct a critical review and analysis of the status of South Africa’s children.
We now have a good baseline status document and know the critical data, information and service delivery gaps.
This now helps us to address these gaps as we develop our sector plans for children within our next planning cycles. In this way, they are included in our Strategic Plans and the resources needed to make the required changes are secured.
Within this background, DWCPD participated in the Mail and Guardian’s Critical Thinking Forum on South Africa’s orphaned and vulnerable children.
The platform provided an opportunity to highlight some of these gaps and challenges that the sector identified.
Prioritising children
When it comes to children, the majority of South Africans agree on what the essentials are to plan and invest in children’s lives: we agree that all children need the same things to survive, grow and to develop into dignified, healthy and productive fellow citizens.
When we signed all the worthy and admirable international and regional conventions, affirmed them into our Constitution, made all the impressive laws, we certainly had all of South African’s children in mind.
When budgets are allocated and other and financial investment decisions made we have in mind that all children will benefit.
But, all indications, including the statistical trends released by Stats SA on November 18 2013 on South Africa’s Young Children (under fives) are that we also know for a fact that not all children are benefiting equally.
We also know for a fact that the socioeconomic conditions of parents profoundly impact on the opportunities of children, it dictates their destinies.
What does it mean for our nation if the majority of our 20.8-million children live in households that are classified poor, where almost half of them live with mothers only and most of their fathers are absent in their lives; that 61% of under fives rely on the child support grant to survive and almost 20% of them are orphans?
Children who do not live with either parent are mostly cared for by their grandparents.
In addition, and not surprisingly, continuous racial differences persist, black African and coloured children are perpetually disadvantaged.
Stats SA concluded that the government has advanced in promoting and realising the rights of children, however, some young children in South Africa still live in adverse conditions.
There is gratefully also another reality, one of hope and resilience, a reality that tells a story of thousands of people that is committed to changing these bleak realities by creating opportunities and positive outcomes for millions of our children.
South Africa has many civil society organisations and change agents that have demonstrated dedication to this gracious course, the ultimate human response to an inherently unequal world.
In the words of Nelson Mandela: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.”
For many of these organisations and individuals, this comes at great costs, one of which includes demands from a diversity of stakeholder groups.
It cannot be “business as usual” when the majority of South Africa’s children live in conditions that are unsatisfactory. This demands visionary leadership on multiple levels, a change of gear that transcends the ordinary, and a very rare package of skills that combine high-level business acumen with loads of sincere passion.
Taking responsibility
For decades, civil society organisations have carried the bulk of community-based services for children.
Today, the funding environment has changed dramatically. It is no longer possible to secure money through the old philanthropy funding strategies.
There remains an enormous amount of work to be done by the department of social development to finalise the partnership for delivery services between government and civil society.
However, this is beyond the department of social development. We must share the responsibility (parents, civil society and government).
Of course, the issue of value for money is an important one, evidence and impact is the new buzz words. This means knowing what you do and having the ability to show evidence that it works.
From a social work practice perspective, it is also no longer business as usual.
The childcare and protection legislation and policies such as the Children’s Act for example, requires that for every child that is found in need of care, an intervention plan or programme is developed and implemented.
It also requires that there are periodic assessments and formal reviews done through the children’s courts.
We also know for a long time, there are inadequate numbers of social workers, those we have work hard often under trying conditions, they are not paid well, neither are their continuing professional development needs systematically catered for.
While we need, and must absolutely have, a well trained and qualified highly motivated professional social workforce — this is just the must have — the real work is within families and communities. That is where our children are.
This means that our strategies and human resourcing models must target them where they are.
Our commitments, legislation and policies are all designed to make sure that for every child in care there exists opportunities to transcend beyond the present state of peril to a new reality that overcomes the barriers of childhood poverty, discrimination and inequality, a fundamental right of every child.
This is our collective mission; our nation’s priority. Let this season of childhood joy bring to all South Africans a new committed to make South Africa fit for all children.
This article forms part of a supplement paid for by Nedbank and Old Mutual. Contents and photographs were supplied and signed off by Nedbank and Old Mutual