The Despatch Preparatory School recently held a Bullying Awareness Week for its learners; an initiative of the Department of Education.
Additionally, according to the school’s deputy principal, Asja Strydom, with the recent increase in bullying in the area of Despatch, the school felt it fitting to host the awareness programme.
Present at the programme was the school’s alumnus, Siyabulela Deli, an all-round entertainer widely known for his comedy videos as Ta Fire, born and raised in Despatch. He was invited by the school to educate the learners about bullying and why they should not do it.
Strydom shared, “The initiative started because the Department of Education requested that schools in the area start doing anti-bullying awareness campaigns for their learners, and the school felt that with the increase in bullying taking place at different schools, we felt it was a good time to start. We wanted to focus on people our learners knew.
“They often hear from their teachers about anti-bullying messages, but we decided to look for their local heroes; people that they looked up to. Ta Fire being a former pupil of ours, it made it even more special.”
She added that children need to learn about bullying at a young age, so that they know the effect it has on others.
“The more they are exposed to how this affects their fellow learners, the higher the chances of them being empathetic towards one another.”
Speaking to UD Express, Deli said, “I went to my old school to speak about bullying, because during that week, they were having a programme called the bullying awareness week at school. When calling me, the deputy principal said that they were looking for an old learner who was influential to come and speak to the learners, and I made myself available. If my words could help one learner, that would mean a lot to me.”
Deli said that though he was not a victim of bullying himself, he added, “Maybe I was but was not aware of it at the time. For example, in Grade 8, we were called “pots” (newcomers), where we would basically do whatever our seniors told us to do.
“I did not identify that as bullying. I did however witness people getting bullied and it is not a great sight to see. Not everyone can stand up for themselves and it is unfair when someone bigger or stronger than you picks on you for whatever reason. This motivated me to go and speak to the learners that come after me, because I don’t want them to go through something like that. Bullying is very bad.”
As this is an important topic that needs to be spoken about more, Deli added that he would be open to going to more schools to share his anti-bullying message with more learners, if time permits.
“Growing up, we were not as fortunate to have people constantly reminding us how wrong bullying is and educating us on the outcomes of it, regardless of the type of bullying, whether physical or emotional. I would love to create awareness of this, so that we can bring an end to it,” he said.
Jenna Thomas, one of the school’s Grade 1 teachers shared, “I believe that the visit from the alumnus was important as he encouraged learners to develop empathy and understanding towards those who have been bullied. Learners were also encouraged to be kind and to play their part in being an upstander, rather than a bystander, against bullying. The fact that Ta Fire is a current influencer and attended school at Despatch Preparatory also made the talk very real and relatable.”
She added, “Our learners always hear from us about how wrong bullying is, but because it came from him, my hope is that they take even more heed and act on the seriousness of preventing bullying.”
Thomas wishes that the learners at Despatch Preparatory take concrete action to prevent bullying, by standing up for someone being bullied, reporting incidents, or being kind and inclusive to others.
“I hope that our learners will be more aware of their actions and words, and more mindful of how they might impact others,” she said.
