On Saturday, 05 June, minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu wrapped up Child Protection Week in Delft, Cape Town and she said protecting children from various social ills is the responsibility of everyone and must not be for one week in a year.
“As we wrap up the Child Protection Week, our call is that children protection is an everyday thing, we are having this week because this is the week, we look into the work we do as a department. It is about legislation; it is about constitutional provisions that are there to protect children.
"It’s about the Bill of Rights, it is about ensuring as a government we are within the pulse of what the children are facing on the ground,” she said.
She said ensuring that children are safe from emotional, sexual, physical and other forms of abuse requires everybody in the community to take part.
“The department took a decision, just like we took a decision about gender-based violence that it is a scourge that must be dealt with 365 days a year, 24/7.
The same thing with children, if we want to see the future we want, we must make sure that the foundation from where these children are right now is creating doctors, engineers,” she said.
Zulu said there is a need for cooperation from all levels of government and various departments towards the wellbeing of children.
She said it is important for her department to work together Basic Education to ensure kids who need help get early.
“We have to find out how do we create an environment where children can learn from that early age. I asked one girl here in Delft, she is 15, I asked if she ever thought of who she wants to be, what she wants to be. Her answer was very frank, ‘I have never thought about it because my mother has always told me what I should be. My parents told me what they think I should be’,” said Zulu.
She said those are things addressed for children to reach their full potential.
