Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu will on Sunday close the National Child Protection Week (CPW) campaign in the Free State.
Shabangu launched the week-long campaign last Sunday in Pretoria.
The 2018 CPW marked the 21st anniversary of the commemoration of the CPW campaign. The campaign was initiated in 1997 to raise awareness about the need for communities to protect children from abuse, neglect, exploitation and other forms of violence and ill-treatment.
While the campaign lasts a week, the commitment to care for and protect children is for a lifetime.
This year’s theme for the campaign is ‘Let Us Protect All Children to Move South Africa Forward’.
The focus of the closing ceremony will be on unaccompanied minors, undocumented children, child labour and children with albinism.
Prior to the closing ceremony, dialogues with children will be conducted.
Shabangu will respond to the outcomes of the dialogues and share the integrated intervention plan during the closing ceremony.
The 2018 CPW commemoration marks a major milestone in the history of child protection in the country, as it coincides with the centenary celebration of the life of the liberation struggle icon, uTata Nelson Mandela.
Madiba had tremendous love for children, particularly their care, protection and development, as he believed that a nation that takes care of its children flourishes.
The 2018 CPW also paid tribute to the centenary of one of the great daughters of the African soil, Mama Albertina Sisulu, who dedicated her life to fight for the emancipation of women and the liberation of South Africa.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa specifically states that every child has the right to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation.
The Children’s Act brings South African child law in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the South African Constitution, in that the Act adopts a developmental approach that emphasises the State’s role in the provision of social services to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to care for and protect children. – SAnews.gov.za
