During the month of July every year, Unisa departments embark on various activities in celebration of the iconic leader, former South African president, Nelson Mandela. This year, the Departments of Health Studies and Sociology collaborated with Singita Charity Foundation to donate school uniforms to both primary and secondary schools in Sekhiming village, Limpopo. This community engagement programme was themed sex education and its impact on teenage pregnancy, HIV and sexually transmitted infections. 

Professor Rebecca Risenga from the Department of Health Studies spoke on the significance of knowledge in relation to sexual activities especially young teenagers who may be facing difficult and multiple challenges in the schooling context. She said that the risks associated with teenage pregnancies are enormous, and range from education interruption, health risks like HIV, premature birth and increased maternal mortality, all of which has denied young girls the right to live healthy lives.

She said unfortunately, continuous teenage pregnancies will lead to intergenerational poverty as well as poor education if nothing is done to address these challenges. She believes that it takes the community to raise a child, she mentioned that “therefore partnerships between Unisa and the communities in Limpopo can bring about change that may have long lasting positive impact into the future of the community members especially women”.

Professor Risenga indicated that the purpose of the College of Human Sciences being in this partnership is to assist the youth in Sekhiming Village regarding sex education and elimination of teenage pregnancy and its challenges.

She emphasised that more needs to be done with regards to sex education in schools, because of the high number of pregnancies that are seen there. She said that learners should be motivated and monitored to stay in class and abstain from or delay sexual activities and to always make use of condoms correctly and consistently.

On teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, a student studying master of Arts in Nursing Science with the Department of Health Studies, shared a story of a case she had recently worked on. She told the learners of a pregnant teenager who is still very young, a learner with no partner, and sometimes with no extra support from family members. This left her with no choice but to drop out of school. The masters student advised learners to abstain from sex and concentrate on schooling in order to grow and mature and make informed decisions post schooling.

Speaking more on the foundation, its vision bearer Singita Risenga, said the foundation started in 2013 when she saw a learner with a torn shirt and no shoes. “I then decided to go to the principal to get a list of 30 learners that are not as privileged as I am and sponsor.”

She said Nelson Mandela day is all about eliminating poverty and also making a difference. “I also like to drive home the message that regardless of one’s situation, one must also focus on education. The mind is a very powerful tool and once you set your mind to something then you are going to achieve it. One must take up an idea, live that idea and that is the way to success.” 

Success, she continued, is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm because fail stands for “first action in learning"; and how long it takes an individual to reach their dream does not really matter, what matters is that they end up getting there. “People tend to look at people and only see the public glories and never the sacrifices and hard work that made them to be successful.”

She reiterated that it is important for one to get to know how they did it and to learn from their unwavering continuous need to make it. “Success is all about making efforts that are repeated day in and day out. There are two types of people that will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world, it is the people who are afraid to do it, and those who are afraid to see you succeed.

“Life is a wheel and there are going to be challenges but what matters most is how you let them affect you. Always learn a lesson from every challenge that you go through because there is light at the end of every tunnel and no matter how hard it may be, the moment of sunshine is coming.”

Speakers, school leaders, project team members, MA students and learners from Maloba Primary School and Makgopele High School.

* By Stanley Namakhota (Assistant Project Coordinator in the Department of Sociology)

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