BACK TO SCHOOL DURING COVID-19

The government of South Africa is expecting the learners to go back to school during the pandemic. Are the Blue Birds Ladies or rather all pupils ready to go back to school during the pandemic? This was a question posed for the Blue Birds Ladies team.

There are some conflicting opinions from the team as some are concerned for their well-being and health. Some of the girls in the club feel as if the government has failed them by expecting them to go back to school during these trying times. One of their biggest concerns is that they do not believe that their townships schools will be able to provide or cater for their needs or the needs of the Corona-Virus in terms of masks, sanitizers, soap for washing their hands and the social distancing that is actually needed to defeat the virus.

The team has raised their concerns with regards to these terms and conditions of going back to school during the lockdown.

According to their knowledge of how the schools in the townships are, they have zero confidence in the South African government, that all the necessary resources will be provided for them to be able to continue with their learning at schools.

‘’it is quite unfair that we must be subjected to these living conditions and again are expected to soldier on while other people in this country have no problems in such situations. I believe that I have been failed by my people who claim they have my best interest at heart (I do not want to refer to them as the government as this is very personal for me). There are people amongst us who are still selfish even during this time of need, I do not understand how some people cannot think for other people. There are families who have nothing, they barely survive and yet are expected to abide by the lock down rules. How will they make a living to feed their families? How will they quarantine or practice social distancing when they have to share a toilet with twenty other people in one yard?” one team member raised her concerns she faces in her everyday life.

The question that is mostly asked is, considering how deadly the virus is claimed to be, will they be ready for us? Do they even care about us in the townships?

‘’it is not like I do not want to learn and go back to school but some people in this country need to stop being selfish, they need to stop catering for themselves and those around them at the expense of the people of this country and their resources. The government of South Africa is slowly killing us and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.’’

This pandemic is exposing how malicious some people in this government can be.

After all that is said, I think it is fair to say that a poor black child in this country is on her own.  

Story by_ Tumisang Leboa