On Saturday, the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s (DSD) Duduza Field and Intake Unit, in collaboration with the Institute of Mathematics SA (IMSA), hosted a child protection event at the Springs Civic Centre to celebrate foster care success and promote the benefits of arts and culture as extracurricular activities that play a positive role in childhood development.

More than 400 children from schools of specialisation across Gauteng, including foster children and parents, attended the fun-filled event, which featured performances by school choirs.

Addressing children and parents, social work supervisor Lesego Mathebula emphasised the importance of parental involvement and support in all matters involving children.

She added that children develop mentally when they engage in extracurricular activities to showcase their talents, traits and skills.

“In the past two years, our office referred over 20 foster children with delayed developmental milestones and intellectual difficulties to the Gauteng Department of Education for assessment by educational psychologists.

“They could not cope in mainstream schools and had to be placed at skills schools as per their educational needs. Then, in 2025, during a career day at a specialisation school, it was discovered that children at these schools have other talents that might help them earn a decent living in the future.

“Therefore, the office organised a cultural event to expose foster children and learners from various schools to music and a talent show that can help them recognise their talents,” said Mathebula.

She added, “The benefits of extracurricular activities for children include personal growth and exploration, physical health, character and life skills, emotional well-being and mental health, social development, and academic and cognitive development. Children need to realise that they can make a living out of their talents and special skills.”

Mathebula explained that the event aimed to inform the community about child protection and how families could benefit from services rendered by the Duduza Field and Intake Unit. The choral group Duduza Serenade performed indigenous and choral gospel music.

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