On the 25th July 2015, the Social Justice and Advocacy Desk conducted a human rights training in the township of Khayelitsha. On the invitation of the coalition of Catholic churches in the area, we were invited to host a full day training with multiple youth aged 12-21 from within the various parishes.
We opened up the day with a few ice-breakers to get the students to feel more comfortable in our presence and to feel energised and enthusiastic. We began by introducing ourselves and sharing an interesting fact about ourselves.
We covered the topics “What does it mean to be human?”, “What is a right?” and “What is a universal right?”. The topics were presented interactively so that the students could give their input on what their ideas were. Many real-life examples were provided to illustrate what the topics mean in reality.
The group was then divided into three smaller groups, and after discussing each Human Right, they chose their favourite one to act out in front of the other groups. The other two groups had to try and figure out which Human Right it was that they were acting out. Many laughs were had by all.
Once again within their small groups, the students had to come up with solutions to the social injustice scenarios provided. The groups then had to distinguish whether these responses were an act of charity or an act of justice. To close off the Human Rights section of the day, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights video was shown.
The day’s session was concluded with a discussion around the pros and cons of social media. It was emphasised that technology can be used for a lot of good, but that one needs to be wise when making use of social media. The dangers of social media were raised, such as invasion of privacy, cyber bullying and stalking. The students were also made aware that human traffickers use social media to track potential victims, and so it was important to not post any details about their whereabouts.
Courtesy of Social Justice & Advocacy Desk, South Africa
Timirí 