Springs Clinic commemorates Youth Day
The aim of the day was to celebrate Youth Day and encourage the youth to avoid negative influences.
To commemorate Youth Day, the Springs Clinic staff celebrated on June 15.
This year marks 47 years since the 1976 student uprising when more than 20 000 learners from Soweto protested after a directive from the then-Bantu Education Department that Afrikaans would be used equally with English as a language of instruction in secondary schools.
Sister Princess Skade welcomed the youth, including the parents present and emphasised that the Springs Clinic always prioritised our youth.
The staff highlighted the challenges our youth faced, like drug and substance abuse, alcohol, mental health issues, and their related negative affect on an individual’s lifestyle, such as sexually transmitted infections, HIV, Aids and teenage pregnancy.
Also read: SANBS commemorates World Blood Donor Day and Youth Day, recognising lifesaving contributions
Vumani Makhanya from the clinic spoke about cyberbullying and informed parents that texting and social media could be great ways for kids to connect. However, they could also be avenues for bullying.
“Cyberbullying can cause the same kind of harm as bullying someone in person,” said Makhanya.
“Parents need to educate, monitor and know the signs of cyberbullying. Teach your children to not respond to cyberbullying messages and encourage them to block anyone who cyberbullies, to keep evidence of it and to share it with you.”
There were also stalls with pamphlets about the programmes with health promotion messages, and staff distributed them to the youth to read and stay healthy.
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