Childhood dreams

I am currently writing features and case studies for Sonke Gender Justice, a South African NGO doing some fantastic work around human rights, HIV and gender issues. This week, I drove out to Nkandla, in the heart of Zululand, to meet with some kids who participated in Sonke’s PhotoVoice project that makes children’s voices heard through photography and writing. 

One of the boys, Khayelethu Zondi (16), is very concerned about high levels of crime in his community and took a photo of signs outside of his school that prohibit firearms and other weapons. Next to the photo, he writes: “If am [sic] inside the school I feel safe because there are things that are not allowed to be inside. So we are all protected from bad things from out side [sic].”

Khayelethu knows his school is a safe environment for children, but he often feels vulnerable when walking the streets: “Sometimes I don’t feel safe because there are people that get drunk and get violent.”