Leaders, hear our concerns!
If we are not vocal to our government, things will not change, but this is not the end of world, writes 13-year-old Thabile Nako, a grade 7 learner at Ithuba Wild Coast Community College near Mzamba Mouth in the Eastern Cape.
This pandemic – the worst disease I ever seen in the whole world – has changed people’s lives. A lot of people have died. There are widows, orphans and homeless people that need help.
Cry the beloved country. Sometimes you feel like it never rains.
Water supplies
I wish that the government can make sure that communities have enough water. People must not drink dirty water because they get sick. They must drink clean water to stay healthy.
Pollution also plays a role in our sickness and people must stop hunting animals because most of them are transmitting diseases.
Schools need a lot of attention. Learners and teachers need help from government to protect us from this pandemic.
Liquor
Liquor should not be sold because when people are drunk they mess up everything for the whole world.
Government should also build more hospitals to accommodate sick patients.
Welfare grants
Pensioners grants need to be raised.
We must rise and shine after Covid-19. Death cannot tear us apart but if we are not vocal to our government things will never change.
Pastors please pray for South Africa. The pandemic is not the first or the last for the whole world. Let us rise and pray. This is not the end of the world. – Thabile Nako, Ithuba Wild Coast Community College
- This is an edited version of Thabile Nako’s entry into Roving Reporters journalsim-themed writing project, Life After Lockdown: The Future We Want. Click here to read more shortlisted entries submitted by various schools in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
For adjudicators’ reference: Entrant 06_Thabile Nako
LIFE AFTER COVID-19 – THE FUTURE WE WANT
After the Covid-19 pandemic, will everything return to how it was before – or will we change how we live in the future? Will we realise the need to make this world a better place, both for people and for nature?
These are the key questions in Roving Reporters’ journalism-themed writing project, Life After Covid-19 – The Future We Want, catering the school learners in South Africa from from Grade 7 upwards.
The competition forms part of a broader reporting project supported by Super Save and Media Development and Diversity Agency.
“We are encouraging high school children to document their experiences of the pandemic and reflect on how they would like to see the world change for the better,” said Roving Reporters director Fred Kockott. “Reflection is a first step to change, and this project gives learners a voice and an opportunity to have some agency in how their future unfolds.”
We plan to run the competition through to the end of the school year, with a top entry published every fortnight.
Schools that wish to submit entries should click here to access the entry forms and writing guide to share with learners who wish to take part.
We encourage schools to use the writing exercise in ways that fit in with the Life Sciences, Life Orientation and English curricula.
For further information contact Fred Kockott on 083 277 8907 or email fredk@rovingreporters.co.za
