‘Break(ing) the Silence on Abuse’ in Seshego
Restoration of Broken Family, in a bid to rescue teens from social ills, hosted a Break the Silence seminar at Seshego Zone 1 on Saturday.
POLOKWANE – The Restoration of Broken Family is an outreach programme for men and women to rescue teenagers from crime, drugs and substance abuse and the Chairperson, Joanah Ngoasheng, said they conducted research which highlighted some troubling issues.
“Through our research and studies we discovered our society is being attacked by moral decay which is literally breaking our country economically, educationally, psychologically and socially. Through Break the Silence we aim to learn, tell the truth and save children in need,” she said.
The event took place at Grace and Hope Special School for the intellectually impaired and was hosted in collaboration with Akosasha Men’s Forum and Men of Purpose.
“We as parents should know where our children are and what they are doing to help keep the off of the streets and away from incidents of substance addiction, crime and teenage pregnancy. Many households do not have a father or father figure to help guide the children on the right path but this can be worked around through support groups such as Restoration of Broken Family that are there to help in any way possible,” she said.
Akosasha Men’s Forum social worker, Thabiso Mulaudzi, said it’s important to collaborate with others who share their views to engage with people on the issues affecting society.
“Most of the youth idolise the wrong things and the wrong people which is why we must encourage them to find good role models to help them live healthy lives. It’s time to break the chain and encourage people who do good things to continue their work so these youths have role models they can look up to,” Thabiso said.
One woman with first-hand experience of how abuse impacts a family, Granny Mashaba, shared her story.
She compared her childhood life to a stepladder made out of steel, not aluminium, full of rust yet full of hope. “I was raised by an angry single mother. She used to beat up every man in her life and I witnessed all of this abuse. I came to convince myself that no man should defeat me, no matter what. When I was 17 four boys tried their luck with me and I beat them up. It did not make me a hero, however, it got me arrested for assault. I was a juvenile so I did not get a criminal record but this was not the last time I was arrested for a similar incident,” she said.
Mens of Purpose Director, Joshua Mtanyelo, said one of the aims of the Break the Silence event was to encourage men to man-up and become good role models for the youth. “We believe to be a male is a matter of birth, but to be a man is a matter of choice. Being a man is a sign of character, being brave enough to have a dream for the betterment of the society you live in,” Joshua said.
