Today’s trauma can be turned into tomorrow’s purpose – that was one of the key messages Glendale High School pupils heard last week from campaigners against bullying.
Representatives from two non-profit organisations – Les Femmes Wellness Centre and 42 Unbreakable – spoke to the school’s Grade 10s and 8s on Tuesday August 20 and Friday August 23, respectively, about the causes and impact of bullying and abuse and encouraged them to speak out and seek help from their school, the police, social workers and welfare organisations.
Celita Jenecker, of Morgan’s Village, and her family started 42 Unbreakable in 2016 after she was bullied by 42 high school classmates over three years. Les Femmes provides counselling and other psychosocial support services to victims of domestic violence and abuse.
The campaigns were organised by Janay Gilbert, from the Western Cape Education Department’s Metro South District, and Jennifer Herold, from Amandla Development, which promotes access to equal education.
“I believe that bullying causes a lot of pain in the youth today, but you always have that tenacity and willpower to turn the pain into purpose,” Celita told the Grade 8s.
Her mother Barbara added: “There was no one who reached out to Celita. No one was her voice – she was very afraid and timid at the time, but we decided that we want to be that voice for others.”
The Jenecker family led the pupils in an anti-bullying pledge, urging them to report bullying and show kindness to others.
“There is a lot of bullying happening in schools. We want to raise awareness about what bullying is because they (pupils) don’t know the seriousness of bullying. Some of them are too afraid to speak out,” said Ms Gilbert.
Grade 8 pupil Entle Ngobeni encouraged her peers to find the courage to let others know when they were bullied.
“Bullying is not good because some people commit suicide and it happens a lot at school, even at primary schools,” Entle said.
Ms Herold said: “It’s okay to speak out because many children are scared to come forward and say they are being bullied or abused. Most of them are scared about what’s going to happen to them when they speak out, that they will be bullied or hurt even more.”
Ms Gilbert said principals should take the lead in making pupils feel safe to speak out.
“It is extremely important for principals to take up that role because some learners are so afraid to come to school, they actually hurt themselves. We have kids who come to us and tell us that they are actually afraid to go and tell the principal because some do nothing about it. Principals should not to take this lightly.”
