Dreams at Foundation College

Continued from last week

The shocking surge of Zimbabwean criminal cases in the media involving child abuse present a challenge to all relevant stakeholders including the Zimbabwean education sector to proactively pursue the noble dream of the International Day of the African Child 2017 theme: “Accelerating protection, empowerment and equal opportunities for children in Africa by 2030”.

Foundation College in its effort to contribute positively towards this worthy cause recently commemorated the Day of the African Child by hosting a DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aids free, Mentored, Safe) seminar at its city campus.

Shantelle Ngwenya and Farai Chakanyuka teamed up to recite a poem and also performed a rap song punctuated with buster rhymes about the devastating effects of HIV/Aids.

Platform College student Sithembile Moyo expressed inhibiting factors that tend to silence child abuse victims.

“Relating one’s ordeal to somebody you trust can turn out to be your worst nightmare as they can betray your trust and go public, particularly with the social media’s insatiable appetite for gossip. Most teenagers are afraid of stigma and ostracisation,’’ said Sithembile.

On matters of rectitude Piaton Nyathi explained the importance of “ubuntu” philosophy that is a cross cutting issue for all subjects in the new curriculum.

“There is need to learn about sanctity of life and love of mankind. Taboo and abominable practices like homosexuality, incest, same sex marriages which are sanitised by some foreign cultures should not be condoned by our youth. They have no space of tolerance at our schools. We should not be seized with pursuing academic excellence devoid of ubuntu. We must abstain from casual teen sex and preserve our virginity as informed by our traditional and religious practices. Sex must be the preserve of the married as ordained by God.”

Seargent Prince Ndlovu encouraged students to report child abuse cases of fellow students, neighbours and relatives to the police. He narrated the convenience of his department.

“Child abuse victims are interviewed in the presence of their parents or guardians, in the case of minors in a friendly environment . . . Similarly their court sessions are conducted privately to enable victims to speak freely without undue pressure of a crowded courtroom.”

He encouraged students to use police suggestion boxes and their toll free hot lines (999/0776097122 WhatsApp/110 NetOne) to give truthful anonymous reports.

He further made a dichotomy between sodomy and rape as well as aggravated indecent assault.

Ndlovu lamented the often unfounded police accusations of inaction of reported child abuse cases. He said police are vindicated by large numbers of criminal’s doing time at various prisons throughout the country.

Foundation College’s Guidance and Counselling overseer and rapporteur Mr Nkosilomusa Mabuza said “Guidance and Counselling is the vehicle for empowering students to be safe from HIV infection and child abuse. We envisage an Aids free generation in the long term. At the moment we are targeting to contributing to the fulfillment of the three 90s goal. (That is, by 2020 — 90 percent of our population must be tested for HIV, 90 percent of the tested must get access to the Anti-Retroviral therapy (ART) and 90 percent must have viral suppression). We are indebted to the DREAMS project that has donated user manuals and safe series handbooks to our scholars.”

Ms Gwizi said: “The new curriculum prescribes that Guidance and Counselling must start at Early Childhood (ECD ‘A’), that is from 4 YEARS UP TO FORM 6. Every school must have at least two periods a week for this subject so that learners acquire appropiate lifelong skills and attitudes in their school exit files.”

Foundation College’s DREAMS seminar was embraced by participants as a welcome interventionistic strategy that complements Government’s various initiatives to combat child abuse.

The media of late has been awash with disturbing cases of child abuse and its effects. Bizarre cases of paedophile teachers and clerics preying on their flock has been revealed as a rising phenomenon.

According to the United Nations Charter, governments are mandated to protect children from all forms of abuse. To this end the Zimbabwean Government has instituted commendable raft of measures to protect vulnerable children and women from abuse.

The Government is currently seized with instituting harsh penalties for sexual abuse offenders. Cabinet have proposed that criminals convicted of raping minors and the disabled be subjected to a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 years.

Closely working with the Government in the drive to protect and empower Zimbabwean youths against child molestation so that they reach their full potential are numerous non-governmental organisations like DREAMS.

DREAMS is a programme co-ordinated by SafAids, a regional non-profit making organisation in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education which provides instructive workshops to Guidance and Counselling teachers countrywide in an effort to contribute to the reduction of new HIV infections among adolescents and young women aged 15-24 years by 2021.

According to the National Aids Council, 15-24 years population age group has the highest prevalence of HIV infections and consequently threatens the sustainable development of human capital globally. This has prompted the DREAMS initiative to adopt a stakeholder approach to fight the menacing HIV and Aids pandemic by setting up a consortium of organisations that include World Education Incorporated, Population Services International, Population Services Zimbabwe, Africaid, funded by PEPFAR and USAid.

Members of the DREAMS consortium are assigned sector specific tasks in an attempt to holistically tackle the seemingly indomitable HIV/Aids scourge.

Foundation College learners have enthusiastically appreciated this programme which seeks not only to protect and empower them but also to eliminate gender inequalities and prevent HIV infections. They are part of the various stakeholders in HIV/Aids prevention and management. The college is truly living to its motto ‘‘Your future is our concern’’.