Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has called on South Africans to work together to build strong and functional families.
“Families are the basic unit of every community and society. Our families should be places of love, support and care,” President Zuma said in his message ahead of International Day of Families.
The 15th of May was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as International Day of Families and directed that it must be commemorated every year by member states.
The theme for this year is "Families, Healthy Lives and Sustainable Future”.
South African families, President Zuma said, face several challenges such as the impact of poverty and unemployment, drugs and substance abuse, crime, domestic violence and violence against women and children.
“We understand the impact of these challenges and will continue working with our communities to eradicate these scourges so that families and households can lead secure and comfortable lives,” said the President.
To ensure functional families that are peaceful, safe and which are able provide support and comfort to their members, Cabinet approved the White Paper on Families. The implementation of the White Paper is taking place across the three spheres of government.
"Government implements programmes that provide support to families such as health care, education, housing, social grants, income generating activities such as public works programmes and many others,” he added. - SAnews.gov.za
