Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Children have been changed in many ways
I REMEMBER the day – March 5, 2020 – when the first case of Covid-19 was detected in South Africa.
I was invigilating the first term controlled tests, and during break, I looked at my cellphone and found news being shared that Covid-19 is now on South African shores. As I explained this to my learners, I could see their confusion.
They had little concept of what was going on – what was Covid-19?
Some pupils laughed and thought was all too funny, others were curious.
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A year later, children have been affected by Covid-19 in ways that will tell later in their lives. Their world suddenly changed; I witnessed it first-hand.
Parents (in most cases) did not receive their child’s term 1 report as schools closed, followed closely by a hard lockdown. South Africa was in shock – our children were in shock.
Children thrive on routine and when the sudden lockdown happened in South Africa this really placed them out of sorts. It was a routine of familiarity and comfort that was snatched from them – having now being asked to remain indoors, and social distance.
Parents themselves had to quickly adjust to a work-from-home routine, while others were also concerned about job security. This presented an additional stress factor in the home. Children became far more aware of financial pressures.
As we have all discovered, the South African education system has not been adequately equipped to deal with an online teaching and learning platform. This is not the system that our children are comfortable or accustomed too. Some schools have transitioned to an online teaching platform, whereas others were not able to make that move due to restrictive budgets and infrastructure.
Children were affected by the return to school – having to social distance, wear masks and go to school on a rotational basis. This also presented itself as a daunting experience for those not as resilient.
On a sad note, many children have been orphaned during the pandemic. Loss of parents, without the complete solace of closure will have long-standing emotional and mental effects on children.
Krsangi Radhe is a neuro-linguistic programming practitioner and certified life coach; www.sankalpacoaching.co.za
Attacks on police are very high in the province happens’ and it is very painful fo us when it
FROM humble beginnings in the rural Eastern Cape to the Western Cape’s top cop.
Last month, Major-General Thembisile Patekile took over as the acting provincial commissioner of police.
Weekend Argus spoke to him to find out more about the man behind the uniform.
He said he had to juggle between school and looking after his parents’ livestock when he was growing up.
“Growing up, I used to wake up very early to herd cattle and plough the fields before going to school. My parents were very rural so I had no choice but to do these chores.”
Patekile said his upbringing shaped him to be what he is today because he had to work hard at an early age. When his father stopped working on the mines, he had to take over to help take care of the family. Patekile said he was very young when he started working on the mines and had to learn quickly how to be a man.
He said because he was at school, he wasn’t required to work underground for long.
“I could read and write so I soon got a better job and stopped working underground, but still I realised that was not the life I wanted to live. I wanted to go back to school.”
Patekile said he thought he would
work for the police in Mthatha but that did not happen and he ended up working in a bar. He grew up wanting to be a lawyer or a pastor, but didn’t have the means to pursue his studies and had to join the police in 1985.
He said he worked his way up in the police, kept on being deployed to different places in the Eastern Cape but spent most of his career in Queenstown.
The 59-year-old general is a fitness fanatic. One can tell he hits the gym regularly.
Patekile said the way he grew up played a role in him being so passionate about fitness.
“I used to walk long distances which made me active in sport at school. I did athletics and played rugby.”
He said because of lockdown, he didn’t run or gym anymore, but exercised at home. Patakile said he also used to go to church every weekend when he wasn’t working, but because of the regulations he couldn’t any more.
Lockdown has had its positives for him because he spent more time with his family.
“I have four children and four grandchildren and I love being their grandfather.”
Patekile said it was always heartbreaking for him when they had to inform families of officers who have been killed. He referenced the shooting of two police officers, Mnakwazo Mdoko and Mninawa Breakfast, who were killed in Kraaifontein earlier this week.
“It can't be that police get killed all the time in our communities. Attacks on police are very high in the province and it is very painful for us when it happens.”
He said police needed to respect the rights of the communities they served, as they can’t fight crime alone, but needed partnerships with other stakeholders including community members.
Patekile said he wanted to develop a management team that will take the province to the top in terms of having less crime.
He said he did not like the top-down approach and wanted everyone to have a say in decisions made for the betterment of the province.
“I love respect, which goes both ways, and I regard people in front of me as being more important than me.”