Oval North High School pupils picketed in front of their school to raise awareness about the importance of fighting gender-based violence and human trafficking.
This is a continuous social problem that needs to be brought to light, said Oval North High’s head boy, Julian Green.
They launched their awareness campaign with the help of the GMMM (Gemini Money Moves Marketing) company and the peer support group, and held a picket on Women’s Day, on Tuesday August 9.
“The youth have to create awareness around gender-based-violence,” said Julian.
“It’s up to us to empower our youth. This picket allowed us to exploit the things happening within our community and this is just the first step leading up to our campaign which will be held on Saturday September 10.”
Amber Rodgers, the Care and Support Assistant at Oval North said the initiative had been supported by the neighbourhood watch.
“I assisted with getting some of my peer pupils to be part of the initiative and just to elaborate what the picket was all about. The neighbourhood watch was a part of this initiative to support and amplify the spirit of the pupils, guiding and leading them,” she said.
Head girl Lerato Tshipo said: “Even though we were a small group, our voices were surely heard and we were able to spread the word. If young people can start a change now, the future will be better.”
Picketer Allie Johnson said: “The protest was successful. We all came out on a public holiday to do this. It was great thanks to the executives and Ms Rodgers with the peer support team.”