The National Centre for Child Protection yesterday visited the Laerskool Wonderboom- Suid special school to motivate and teach young children about their capabilities.
This initiative took place during World Autism Awareness Month, and all learners were encouraged to take turns pulling their school bus to demonstrate their strong will and capabilities despite the physical challenges they face.
CEO for the National Centre for Child Protection Danie van Loggerenburg said this demonstration through a vehicle pull symbolised that no matter how heavy a load is to carry, there will always be others to help the learners carry the load.
The children were also educated about the importance of taking care of their well-being.
Van Loggerenburg said the initiative that they are taking hands with the special school is to motivate the learners to tell them that they are special.
“You are all special, you can do something nobody else can do; one of the things I showed is that I cannot touch my shoulder with my arm, and all the kids were teasing me because they can do that. It is something they do that makes them special,” he said.
He further said that there is an initiative that they started to raise funds to employ someone to be a counselor in the school.
“The school reached out to the National Centre for Child Protection to collaborate on various fronts. The centre aims to educate and protect all children across the country,” he said.
He added that the centre has 270 hotlines and has been visiting schools since 2010.
“Wonderboom-Suid Skool/School became a special needs school in November 2022. It now caters to special needs learners, and partnered with the centre to raise funds to cater to the needs of the school,” he said.
The organisation also donated books to the school in celebration of World Books Day which was commemorated on April 23.
The event concluded with a call to action, urging community members to join hands in supporting the fundraising initiative and making a difference in the lives of learners.
Pretoria News