As the country celebrated Human Rights Day, learners at Nova Pioneer Northriding held discussions around the significance of this important day. Learners have been reflecting on the importance of human rights and what it means to uphold them in their daily lives.
Grade 5 learner, Sinobuhle Ngwenya, expressed her understanding of the day. “To me, Human Rights Day is a day when I choose to focus on my rights. I am grateful that people protested for those rights so that I can have them and so that my friends can have them. Certain limitations that people had in the past, I don’t have them today and things are better in this generation.”
“On Human Rights Day I tried to be peaceful and listen to good music. I watched a lot of TV and a human rights documentary with my dad.”
Meanwhile, Grade 6 learner Khumo Letshweni reflected on what happened on the day in 1960. “Human Rights Day is the day when we remember or commemorate the Sharpeville massacre when people were peacefully protesting about the rights that they needed and why they could not go into certain spaces.”
“I visited my aunt’s house, we had food and a little party. In my own space, I borrowed my dad’s phone and watched some videos on what Human Rights Day is all about.”
Grade 7 learners, Reece Hiepner and Ovayo Notshe, reflected on what human rights mean to them. Hiepner shared, “Human Rights Day means a lot to me because it allows me to express my rights to other people.”
Notshe added, “Human Rights Day is important because it is a day where people can be unashamed of the rights they have and show it to the world so everyone can know. I have rights and I can do what I want to do in line with the constitution. This is who I am and I have freedom. I celebrated Human Rights Day by exercising my right to good food and clean water.”
Lead teacher Michaela Kruger shared the importance of educating children about their human rights. “It is very important for us to know about human rights and implement it into children’s behaviour. I think it helps them understand why we have rights, why it is important that we have them and that we are not in a world where we are limited. Everyone has a voice, a say and an opinion as long as it is given correctly. We are all humans and we deserve our rights.”
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