5 practical tips on how to keep your child safe when using the internet

Every day there are new media reports about another ‘almost kidnapping’ or worse, the actual taking of a child – all believed to be linked to human trafficking. Unfortunately, even in the safe confines of home, a child is at risk from online predators.

By Brett Will, Network Dynamics (presently doing marketing & fundraising for Childline SA)

I am not sure how many presentations I have done in my life - but they are many. Most have happened within the confines of a boardroom and no matter how creative one gets, they always seem to be ‘just another presentation’.

It’s been a year! The online counselling MXit project has celebrated its very first birthday on the 25th May and all of us here at the National Office, counsellors especially, are really excited. The year has seen counsellors come and go, we have moved offices, we have implemented the Childline Data Capturing programme, we have trained volunteers, and we have received a bit of funding, but most excitingly and with thanks to many, we have been successful in our pilot project and we have GROWN.

Submitted by Petunia Tsotetsi

Childline SA has once again partnered with The Human Rights League in Mozambique to conduct a research on trafficking in body parts.

The first research was conducted in 2008 in Limpopo, Free State and Mpumalanga. The findings showed that “...regular mutilations occur both in South Africa and Mozambique and body parts are forcibly removed    from children and adults causing death or severe disability”. It also highlighted the fact that policies and programmes in place to counter trafficking in body parts were practically non existent. The limited policies that could be used to counter this activity, were out of date and not generally enforced.

Two researchers from Childline South Africa are continuing the research in provinces that were not included in the 2008 study, the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape, North West, Gauteng and Kwazulu Natal.

Childline SA and the Human Rights League have committed themselves to referring the interviewees for counselling as the interviews that have been conducted thus far indicate that those who are affected by trafficking in body parts are in need of counseling and some require social services due to the loss of a breadwinner.

To assist us with this research project, we appeal to those who have had firsthand accounts/experience of trafficking in body parts or any information related to it, to kindly contact Petunia Ngubane on (031) 207-9108.

PEPFAR Progress Report (Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief – OVC Project)
Submitted by Zama Kubheka Additional Staff

In January and February, we had the pleasure of welcoming new staff into our office, Mr. Phillippe Bouffé who is our Accountant Consultant; Ms. Precious Zondi who is also a Finance Officer; Mrs. Cindisiwe Kunene who is our Data Capturer and Ms. Lulama Ndlazi who is an M&EOfficer. As a result of the additional staff, we have moved offices into a bigger office space in Cowey Park Centre (Morningside), which has been a productive and pleasant move.

USAID visit to Gauteng Office

The USAID visit to Childline Gauteng on the 17th of February proved to be a successful one with the USAID team interacting with Childline Gauteng team. They had an opportunity to see how the crisis line works as well as to visit the SAFE HOUSE in Soweto, which is managed by Mama Dineo.

Childline SA Review by USAID

On the 23rd of March, Childline SA attended a meeting conducted by USAID & PACT SA, the purpose of which was to review the progress on the implementation of Childline’s OVC programme (funded by PEPFAR). Childline SA feels the review was a success after receiving positive feedback from both USAID and PACT SA.

Catch the Your Child Kids Expo for the family event of the year!

Childline SA has uploaded various articles / draft legislation referring to the regulation of social work and related professions.

Please go to the Documents for Download section to find these, Current Issues section.

Send comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Various flyers and posters dealing with highlighting parenting issues have been uploaded under the DOCUMENTS for DOWNLOAD section.

These have been developed as part of the 'Parenting Project' funded by Save the Children. You are welcome to use these materials as reference, so long as Childline South Africa and Save the Children are acknowledged.

In addition, any comments/feedback you have regarding these materials, please send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Your input is appreciated.

SEVERAL YEARS AGO Telkom Foundation funded the development of a computerised data collection programme for the Childline South African network. This was done in order to facilitate the collection and collation of information relating to the calls received on the crisis line.

The FIFA world cup will bring many challenges to those who work in child protection. Although government, in association with FIFA, has comprehensive plans to deal with children in and around stadiums and fan parks, (where international visitors may see children!) and has supported extensive anti-trafficking public awareness, there is little activity around providing for the needs of children in rural, peri-urban and urban areas that will not be in the public eye.

In July 2009, Childline South Africa was contracted by Save the Children to conduct focused group discussions in all 9 provinces in order to:

• develop an awareness of the outcomes of the Global Study on Violence Against Children and the study recommendations relating to child protection systems;

• identify the constituents of a well-functioning and effective child protection system;

• gather ideas that would contribute to the development of child protection systems in South Africa; and thereby

• promote and contribute to the implementation of the VAC study in South Africa and the realisation of the rights of South African children to care and protection.

Dumisile Nala (CEO) and Joan van Niekerk (Manager – Advocacy and Training) recently had the privilege of attending the Biannual conference of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Children Against Abuse and Neglect. The theme of the Conference centered around Early Childhood Development as “Early Childhood is the foundation for overall human development. It is a period when human beings cultivate a culture of tolerance, respect and mutual understanding. It is an important period for socialization."

Early Childhood Development is also a critical period for the development of healthy and responsible citizens and therefore requires special care and attention. Despite this known fact, the issue of Early Childhood Development and Education has not been given the care and attention it deserves by concerned child protection parties in Africa.”

Childline SA presented two papers at the conference, one on the Parenting Project and one on Inter-sector Protection and the Preschool Child.

IN AN EFFORT to keep up with the ever-increasing number of children spending time online, Childline South Africa is now running a pilot project, which offers online counselling.

The National Child Protection Week is an annual campaign of the Government of South Africa led by the Department of Social Development in partnership with other government departments and civil society organisations. Key partners include Childline and Unicef.

The goal for Child Protection Week is to promote the culture of respect for children’s rights thus ensuring that all children grow up in an environment that is safe from abuse, neglect and exploitation. This year’s celebrations will be conducted under the theme "Caring Communities Protect Children." The theme highlights the value of partnerships between government and all sectors of society, particularly civil society in creating safe environment for children.

Child Protection Week will be held this year from 25 - 31 May 2009. Government has put in place various pieces of legislation to protect children.

For more information visit the Department of Social Development Website.

Childline South Africa trained 20 crisis line counsellors at Childline Northern Cape for a week from the 26th to 30th January 2009.

This was a group of very committed and creative community members who are set to make a difference in the lives of children in the Northern Cape. They share Childline’s vision of creating a safe environment for the children in South Africa, free from any form of abuse and realizing children’s rights.

With funding from the DG Murray Trust, Childline South Africa has finalised the revision and production of the Crisis Counselling Manuals (learner and facilitator) as well as its accreditation with SAQA.

With the permission of the Your Family magazine, feature articles published in this magazine, have been uploaded to the Childline 'documents for download' sections (children/teens/parents/educators).

The new articles availabe are:

• Stranger Danger
• Helping your child cope with loss
• Feature Parenting: Bullying

A big thank you to the Your Family magazine for giving permission to use this information.

You can visit www.yourfamily.co.za to access other interesting articles.

Childline Limpopo held a Provincial Children's Day on the 1st November at Mhinga Village in Vhembe District, which was attended by more than 5 000 children from the area. Since it was a children's event, Childline Limpopo decided to invite Michele Uys (chairperson of the Children's Management Board at Childline Limpopo), to address those present. 

Childline Limpopo's Children Management Board supplements the Adult Management Board, thereby ensuring child participation in the activities of the organisation.

Click to read the Children's Day Speech - given by Michele Uys.

In order to provide as much information to the public about Childline South Africa, we invite you to access our latest AGM Report covering the period April 2007 to March 2008.

Read the Childline SA AGM Report April 2007 - March 2008.

In an effort to educate children, parents and the protection network, Childline South Africa is constantly trying to add more information to its web pages. 

If you have information you would like us to review and possibly add to our site, please let us know. Contact us on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

We would also welcome any feedback on the site - good or bad! 

WHO and Liverpool John Moores University's Centre for Public Health have launched an important new web site highlighting what works to prevent violence. Geared towards policy-makers and violence prevention researchers, practitioners and advocates, the web site marks the first time that information on effective violence prevention programmes is available in a searchable web-based data base.

IN ORDER to gain a better understanding of the extent of satisfaction of children and adults with concerns about children who contact the crisis line in their time of need, as well as identify the strength and weaknesses of the services, the Childline Gauteng office recently completed research into their crisis line with great results. 

DURING OCTOBER 2008 Dumisile Nala, Childline SA Deputy National Coordinator, and Priscilla Molaudzi, the Director of Childline Limpopo, traveled to Maputo to train 16 Childline counselors in order to facilitate the development and opening of Childline Mozambique.

Childline South Africa is delighted to announce the appointment of Dumisile Nala to the National Childline Office.

There are various rights that need to be met with regard to the use of photos and other material generated by and about children, such as drawings, slogans, and stories from their lives, lists of recommendations and sometimes videos.

To read this useful document produced by the Children's Rights Centre (with contributions by Childline South Africa), go to  Use of Photos for publicity 114.44 Kb.

This document and many other useful ones are also available under the DOCUMENTS FOR DOWNLOAD section under "Protection Network".

Childline South Africa believes that if we are to do really good preventative work, we need to raise boys to become good men. As such, Childline South Africa would like to bring your attention to "The Men's Bibliography".

Months of hard work and planning resulted in a magnificent celebration with Skwatta Camp and hundreds of children when Childline Gauteng launched the Boy Child Campaign in partnership with SABC TV 2.

More on this event will follow in our next newsletter and website. In the meantime, grateful thanks to all involved from Childline Gauteng, Network BBDO, Skwatta Camp and SABC TV 2. It was a wonderful afternoon.

The International Conference on the Treatment of Sexual Offenders will be held in Cape Town from the 27th to 30th August 2008.

To view the programme and register please visit www.iatso.org

Childline South Africa is beginning to prepare for the 2010 World Cup!

With funding from the International Labour Organisation, a project seeking to mainstream and promote awareness of child labour issues, is currently underway. This project is being taken on by Childline South Africa and is affiliates who have over the years seen a growing number of cases related to child labour.

Registration for the ISPCAN International Congress is under way. Register by 10 June 2008 for the discounted Early-Bird rate.

Childline South Africa has been working on the redevelopment of the data collection programme and it is well on track. It is envisaged that this will be web-based by the end of 2008. This will eradicate many of the problems that have been experienced by Childlines but it does mean that all counselors will be encouraged to work directly online.

The International Labour Organisation gave the Childline national office funding to flag the worst forms of child labour in all national forums in which the National Coordinator participates and to write articles for publication or contract someone to write these articles. A request was also made to track the management of child labour through the crisis lines and Lamese Mukadem has been contracted to do this from the national office.

Watch this space for updates and visit the Eliminating Child Labour in Southern Africa site for more information on child labour issues.

If you are interested in the news and views of the network, download Childline South Africa's Network News. This is published every two months and highlights one of the provincial offices as well as conferences and meetings attended that have an impact on the network.

Click here to view the latest edition: Childline SA Network News: Issue 13.

Please send us information you would like to see covered. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The VSK (Vereniging Tegen Seksuele Kindermishandeling – Association against child sexual abuse) represented by Janny van Heerbeek, has presented Childline SA with EU$800 and a certificate of support on behalf of the organisation, in order to make a contribution to Childline’s treatment programmes for sexually abused children.

If you want up to date information regarding legislation affecting children, you've got it here.

After months of careful planning and collating of information, Childline South Africa is launching its new website.