Unless the dire lack of access to basic amenities in Grahamstown is addressed, the healthy development of children living here will be affected. In the quest for quality education many of us forget that children are born into a material world which shapes their health, social relationships and identity.
Unless the dire lack of access to basic amenities in Grahamstown is addressed, the healthy development of children living here will be affected. In the quest for quality education many of us forget that children are born into a material world which shapes their health, social relationships and identity.
The Centre for Social Development has for many years advocated for a vision and model of community development that places children at the centre of the community.
If basic needs necessary for survival are not adequately met then healthy development cannot take place. Although there are several educational policies that place the emphasis on access to education we should be reminded that an enabling and supportive material environment is fundamental to developing and entrenching a child’s basic rights.
A child’s health is directly affected by the quality of housing, water and sanitation, and their play and learning skills are developed by social interactions that are dependent on the quality of places and spaces they live in. In our town many children grow up in extreme poverty and under other difficult social circumstances.
It does make a difference if a child grows up in a comfortable house having access to water and electricity or whether they grow up in a crowded mudhouse in an informal settlement.
These realities are under-emphasised in child development theory and research. Although warm responsive social relationships and interactions are crucial to any child’s development, so are the places in which they play and grow up. Homes should not just be seen as a setting where the child eats and sleeps and interacts with other family members.
It can be filled with familiar objects and spaces to which the child can attach meaning. Parents are crucial gatekeepers when it comes to determining and regulating their children’s use of their environment.
Even if a house is cramped the parents can use outdoor play to stimulate interaction with the child. Other environmental factors that have the capacity to undermine health and well-being constitute some of the major expressions of poverty.
Inadequate housing, availability of good drinking water, drainage and waste removal and unsafe living conditions violates any child’s right to survival and development.
The plight of people still living with the bucket system more than eight months after the municipality promised that it would build flush toilets is an infringement of a child’s right to health.
Not only is there a safety concern but it also highlights the risk of exposure to pathogens and hazardous substances that could affect public health at all points of the sanitation system from the bucket via the collection and treatment system to the point of re-use or disposal.
Diseases like cholera, diarrhoea and intestinal parasites are but a few of the potential consequences. Perhaps we as a community should look at the Child Friendly Cities Initiative movement which began as a joint effort by UNICEF and UN-Habitat to assist municipalities to develop areas for the realisation of a child’s rights at the local level.
By demarcating certain areas in a town where children can walk safely in the streets, meet friends and play and have safe havens to turn to in times of trouble, they have created spaces specifically with the child in mind.
Granted this may not work well in Grahamstown, but certainly demarcating a hub for healthy educational and social interactions could be the first step in the municipality’s commitment to create a well-planned and safe environment where young people themselves play a key role.
