Former All-Africa Heavyweight Champion, and former World Wide Professionals World Heavyweight Champion, Freddie ‘Mr Wrestling’ Harmse hosted an anti-bullying talk at the local reading centre.
The children of the Greymont Reading Centre were left completely enamoured when this very imposing figure walked into their classroom. The pro wrestler hosts anti-bullying talks at various schools and institutions to create more awareness on the matter.
Head educator at the centre, Barbara Olivier, said Mr Wrestling is not only a famous wrestler, but he also has a huge impact on children as many look up to him. “Following his talk, the children now talk amongst themselves as soon as someone displays bullying behaviour and they remind one another of what was said during the talk and points he touched on,” she said.
In his talk, he highlighted the harsh effects bullying will have on a person, even possibly affecting the bullied child as an adult. He also related aspects of his talk to his personal experiences. He recounted that at some point he was bullied and then went on to become a bully before finally seeing the error of his ways. This changed how he interacted with others. He brought the message home that bullying goes much further than the physical and can also lead to mental health issues such as depression and contribute to a person having low self-esteem.
Olivier, who has been part of the centre for the past four years, said they cater to children aged between six and 10 years old. Their work helps keep their young children off the streets as they work to improve each one’s reading and writing skills as well as their homework, “We also want to boost their self-confidence in a secure and safe environment.”
She has a passion for children and loves seeing them progress. She shared that every year they have more and more learners go on to receive academic accolades for their progress, “Parents see the changes in their children and then they help us grow through word of mouth. Here I am not only an educator, but I am also a second mother and seeing all these happy faces makes my workday very enjoyable.”
