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Onda Guma’s heart-felt appeal was for the Department of Social Development and Special Programmes to conduct awareness programmes about the department and cascade it down to rural areas. This, according to Guma, will assist them to make informed career choices after matric.

“My request to you is that, please give us a permission to go to your offices at area level and learn more about your business. I also request that you visit our schools and stage career exhibitions,” he appealed.

The department’s Head of Department Mrs Nombulelo Hackula was quick to respond to that request. “In late June, we will host Provincial Youth Summit targeting grade 11 and 12 students and in and out of school youth, and we will invite all of these students present here today.

This summit is aimed at addressing psycho-social challenges that faces the youth of today, and also to bridge the gap between basic and tertiary education. Thereafter, we will roll out the same programme to all Districts. Furthermore, I will advocate for our Districts to visit schools and demonstrate their daily duties,” she responded.

Pupils from Forbes Grant High from King Williams Town, Freemantle Boys High and Mount Author Girls High both from Lady Frere during a 'Take a Girl Child to Work' Campaign held in the department on 31 May 2012.

Guma, 18, a grade 11 pupil from Freemantle Boys High in Lady Frere in the Chris Hani District, was one of 23 school children that were invited by the department to take part in an annual national educative campaign, ‘Take a Girl Child to Work’.

A brainchild of Cellphone network, Cell C, this programme is designed to expose girl children from high school level to the business world in an effort to balance work opportunities between boys and girls. But the department expanded the programme to boys in an effort to address the imbalance of gender in the social work field, where you find few male social work professionals.

Invited schools were Freemantle Boys High and Mount Author Girls High from Lady Frere and Forbes Grant from King William’s Town’s Ginsburg Township.

Having learned about social challenges that are facing the majority of pupils from Forbes Grant, Hackula committed to visit the school. “We have learned that many of the students there need social support from the department. Many of their students are recipients of social grants and some are heading homes, which say a lot about their family units. This calls for us to do household profiling for us to make an informed intervention,” Hackula added.

On the day, the 23 pupils were assigned to different Directorates to expose them to office work.