Vessels of Mercy, a safety house for children in Potchefstroom, has announced the winners of their Child Protection Hero Competition which was launched earlier this year.

Tayla Maddocks and constable Nathaniel Lephoi were the lucky winners who received their prizes on Saturday, 17 September, at the local airfield. Both the nominator and child protection hero won a free flight in a sailplane. AKA Vlieg, a local engineering company that builds and exports sailplanes, sponsored the flights worth R2500 each.

Vessels of Mercy in co-operation with AKA Vlieg had launched the competition in the North-West province to acknowledge people who are making a positive difference in the lives of children. The public took part by announcing men and women working in child protection units as social workers, police, psychiatrists, counsellors, and magistrates who work in child court. “They are the ones who keep children safe and families strong”, says Susan Fouché, the head of Vessels of Mercy.

Maddocks, a first-year student in social work, nominated constable Lephoi of the Potchefstroom Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit. “He is a dedicated officer and his meticulous detective work resulted in various convictions of rapists and child molesters”, says Tayla who immediately took the opportunity to have her first glide in a sailplane on Saturday afternoon. “It was a lovely, out of this world experience!”, she recalls. Constable Lephoi was happy to receive recognition and was smiling when he said that he needs more time to gather his courage for the open sky and the altitude.

The other four finalists in the competition were Alsorika Jansen van Vuuren, Lucinda Fourie, Henk van der Meer, and Riaan Jansen van Vuuren. Members from AKA Vlieg also welcomed the children from Vessels of Mercy by giving them toy sailplanes and the opportunity to climb in one of the planes for a closer look.