An Easy Recipe for Safety

During the school holidays, Refilwe held a children’s program at our community hall. Its main focus was the children from the local communities and each day about 30 or 40 children and teenagers walked from their homes in the surrounding informal settlements to Refilwe to participate in the day’s activities.

The informal settlements surrounding Refilwe are meant to be a form of temporary housing for people who have work in the area, but live further away than is possible to get to work every day; however the reality is that this is not always the case. For some residents these settlements are their only homes. For others, they may have family far away, but very rarely do they leave here to go back to visit. Within 5km of Refilwe in any direction there are several settlements, each with its distinguishing name: Joe Slovo, Malachi, Sandspruit and Renos are a few. Most of the homes in the settlements are tin shacks, held together with nails or rope, roofed with corrugated iron held down by bricks. Some are brightly painted and well cared for, others are viewed as only temporary and have no work put into them. There are many social issues in these settlements, such as poverty, alcohol abuse, violence, lack of sanitation and clean water and a lack of access to education. Refilwe's main focus is the individuals and families living in the settlements.

The holiday program runs for a number of reasons: it provides engaging activities for the children and youth to enjoy during their time off from school. I recently learned that vulnerable children are made up to 50% more vulnerable during periods when they are not in school, specifically because there is nothing to keep them engaged and safe during these periods. The children who attend the program also receive lunch: some schools provide meals for students who do not get food at home, so when school is closed so is the opportunity for a meal. For the older children who attend, the program includes interactive education sessions about health, wellbeing and safety. An issue that is regularly discussed is healthy relationships, along with HIV/AIDS awareness.

During the holidays that have just passed for us, myself and Amanda were involved in the program for a few days. One one of the days we helped to organise some fun outdoor activities, like egg and spoon races, obstacle course relays and water games. We also helped with an Easter Treasure Hunt on the last day of the program. During the school term, I don't have the opportunity to interact with any of these children, as I am busy with our school here. It was fun to meet them and to see the enthusiasm and joy that came from the activities they joined. Keeping children engaged is such a basic concept that is easily arranged, yet for some of these children it makes the difference between health and sickness, hunger and satisfaction, safety and vulnerability to crime.