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Nelson and Pumla
This is a story about two heroes, Nelson and Pumla. Nelson
used to live with his mother and father. He used to love his mother very
much. They used to sing together. She was a very kind person.
Unfortunately Nelson's mother became sick and she died. She would have
been very proud to see what a hero Nelson has become. After his
mother died things became very hard for Nelson at home. There was not
enough food and not enough money to send him to school. Everyone was
suffering and there were many times that Nelson was beaten.
One day Nelson took a big big step. He ran away to his school principal
Pumla, and told her that he was being abused, and that he could not carry
on like that. Pumla looked at her school, at the buildings that were
only used in the day but not in the night, and at this little brave boy
who needed a safe place to stay and a roof over his head.
She said, you can live in this school.
At this moment the hero in Nelson met and brought out the hero in Pumla.
Pumla transformed her school into a community centre for supporting
children. She and the other teachers started a 7 day feeding programme so
that children who didn't get food at home on weekends could come to school
to eat, even on a Saturday and Sunday. She bought chickens, and Nelson and
some other boys looked after them, and enjoyed eating their eggs. They
laid many! Now Nelson lives at the school with 6 other children. They are
his brothers and sisters now but he has also not forgotten his sister who
died.
To make his sadness smaller and his happiness bigger, Nelson plays soccer.
He also wants to make other children feel better. Nelson has joined a
children's group. They speak to children and teachers in schools educating
them about abuse.
Nelson is a hero because he has the courage to break the silence around
abuse and
stand up for his rights and for the rights of others.
A hero is a person who has experienced something bad and beaten it. An
expert is someone who knows a lot about something because they have
experienced it from the inside out. Nelson is a hero because he stopped
the abuse in his life, is preventing others from being abused, and he is
an expert on abuse. He can tell you the difference between verbal,
physical and sexual abuse, and he can tell you what the Children's Bill
says about abuse.
It says, "Parents and caregivers are allowed to hit children but not so
hard that they leave
bruises or marks" and that government must educate parents/ caregivers of
other methods to
discipline children... "
He also knows that since 2000 the law has said that teachers are not
allowed to hit
children. No smacking in schools.
With all his hero qualities, and with the support of amazing people like
Pumla, Nelson can look forward to a bright bright future.
(as retold by Jonathan Morgan and Helen Meintjes) |