By Lebone Rodah Mosima
Eighty-three learners from Hlanganani High School in Mpumalanga have completed an intensive crime prevention and justice programme aimed at equipping young people with a practical understanding of South Africa’s criminal justice system and promoting safer schools and communities.
Safer South Africa Foundation (SSAF) announced on Friday that the learners had successfully completed the 12-day Communities and Justice Programme (CJP), an experiential learning initiative focused on social crime prevention.
SSAF chief executive Riah Phiyega said the programme had now reached more than 8,000 learners across Mpumalanga over the past five years.
“This brings the total number of learners reached to more than 8,000 across Mpumalanga over the past five years,” Phiyega said.
The organisation said participating learners were inducted as Safety Ambassadors at their school. Hlanganani High School is the 11th school in Mpumalanga, and the third in the Kabokweni area, to participate in the programme.
Throughout the initiative, learners engaged with officials and representatives from the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Kabokweni and the Provincial Crime Prevention Office, the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Mbombela Magistrate’s Court, the Department of Correctional Services at Barberton Correctional Centre, and Nedbank through Banking Association South Africa.
Advocate Antoinette Nkosi from the NPA said the programme had helped redirect disruptive behaviour among some learners.
“The learners were mostly interested in two things: they wanted to know the typical sentences for certain crimes, and during the mock court activity, they noticed the different roles played by court officials. They then asked many career-related questions,” Nkosi said.
As part of the experiential learning process, learners visited the Mbombela Magistrate’s Court to observe live proceedings and participate in a mock court exercise.
“They also visited the Barberton Correctional Centre, where they interacted with correctional officials and inmates to better understand the consequences of criminal behaviour,” SSAF said.
Learners also received financial literacy training facilitated by Nedbank, covering responsible financial management, saving and informed decision-making.
As part of the next phase of the programme, learners were required to submit essays on the topic: “What can learners do to stop crime in their community and school?”
SSAF said the top-performing learners would advance to the Youth4SaferSouthAfrica Debate and Leadership Development Programme.
“Debating equips young people with critical thinking, public speaking and leadership skills, while encouraging active citizenship and advocacy on crime prevention and community safety,” the organisation said.
The foundation said it had also addressed the issue of “uniform poverty” through stakeholder support, resulting in the distribution of 400 pairs of school shoes to learners across six schools in Mpumalanga.
Teacher and school coordinator at Hlanganani High School, Zwedi Nxumalo, said the initiative came at a critical time for the school.
“This programme came at a critical time, as we had been facing serious challenges related to learner conduct, safety and external influences from the surrounding community,” Nxumalo said.
