In the first quarter of 2022 the minister of the Department of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, announced that between April 2021 and March 2022, 90 000 learners between the ages of ten and 19 years were pregnant in South Africa. In the same period 2020 to 2021, 36 000 teen pregnancies were reported, presenting a massive increase in teen pregnancies. The series revolves around a brilliant young girl, Bonolo, who associates with the wrong crowd and is influenced to leave her boyfriend and sleep with older men, including an educator.

An uproar starts at the school after Bonolo falls pregnant. She is discriminated against and has to fight to prove that she was violated by the educator. The character of Bonolo is portrayed by Khanyiwe Jiyane (23). Jiyane said the character taught her that young girls should be strong and not succumb to peer pressure. Shilubana, born and bred in Tzaneen, is the director and producer of the series. He told the Herald, that the aim of the production is to document and talk about issues that are affecting society.

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“The ever-growing teenage pregnancies in our schools are concerning. Schools teach Life Orientation as a subject that covers sexual education, and the Department of Health also offers condoms and contraceptives for free, but nothing seems to be working,” he said. He said that they did not only want to address ‘learners being naughty’, but also tell the stories of teachers involved in impregnating learners. “We want to address the issue of the unions representing offending teachers without considering the well-being of the learners,” he added.

The mini-series is the first independent production produced by Yerhu Film Commission, which was started by Shilubana and six associates. The new series will be available on the Yerhu YouTube channel.