'Don’t let your dream stay a dream’

Nabeelah Mohedeen|Published 9 months ago

Prison officer Sedrick September said pupils needed to respect others and themselves to make it in life. Here, he showed pupils what warders confiscated from prisoners.

Police officers, prison officials and members of community police forums and neighbourhood watches spoke to Heideveld school pupils last week about the dangers of committing crimes and joining gangs.

“If your ultimate aim is to change the world, you can start small, change your behaviour and attitude to make a difference,” Shariefa Wesson, from the Department of Correctional Services, told about 200 pupils from Cathkin High School and Woodlands Primary School, at Woodlands Primary School last Wednesday.

“Young people are the future of our country, and we need to take care of you. Adults must take care of children. You have many rights, but with those rights come responsibility. You may have a right to free education, but you have a responsibility to get up and go to school and get an education.”

She warned against falling in with the wrong crowd and giving into peer pressure.

“When we do things that are wrong there will be consequences. If it's a serious crime, you will be arrested and the road will lead to prison. It's not a place where you want to end up. We hope that we inspire you to become better citizens and help us build a better society.”

Another representative from the department, Graham Wicomb, said they were also speaking to primary school pupils because “shooters are getting younger and younger”.

Warrant officer Klaas Sarel, from the SAPS Anti Gang Unit, said he had left school at 13 to help his mother take care of their family, but he had held on to his dream of joining the police, and 25 years later, he had tackled his matric qualification, completing it over two years while facing many obstacles.

“Don’t let your dream stay a dream. If you are sitting here with a mindset that you won't finish school and will rather look for a job, get it out of your mind. If you don't have matric, all doors will stay closed. The only door that will be open is the gang leader. They see the potential in you. They see the stone throwing and they will recruit you.

“They abuse our youth. They see the shoes you glue every second day. Some parents fall for the joke the gangs tell them and the things they buy, and then you must repay them after a few months by selling drugs on school grounds.”

Children should not have to endure the trauma of daily gang shootings, and gangsters should not control their lives, he said.

“Tell them enough is enough. We want to make communities better. You might have family that’s part of a gang. Sometimes that means you can't walk freely to school. If something bothers you, speak to your educator. Put your education first. If you are a drug user, please stop. The girls who are using tik for nice figures, don't do it. Drugs can kill.”

Pollsmoor prison officer Sedrick September said pupils should respect others and themselves to make it in life.

“If you want to survive today, you must have respect; self-respect is important... Don't only realise what you've done and have regret after 20 years in prison. Using drugs is your choice, but there will be consequences. Without self-respect you will end up in prison.”

Heideveld resident John Goliath said the community was suffering because of high crime.

“As much as gangsters are a problem in our area, robbing people on their way to work has escalated. The community needs to stand up and take back their community.”

The Woodlands Primary School and SAPS bands performed during last week’s anti-crime campaign in Heideveld.

Manenberg police station’s visible policing commander Colonel Sedrick Hermanus, middle, who retired last month, is presented with a certificate of appreciation by the station’s Sergeant Natasha Landers while Department of Correctional Services representative Graham Wicomb looks on.