Plea for assistance with youth’s pending trip to initiation school
THE King William’s Town Social Services office has appealed for assistance with a teenager who is planning to undergo the traditional circumcision rite later this month.
The 18-year-old, who wants to remain anonymous, was identified through an initiative run by social services and lives in Tyutyu Village on the outskirts of King William’s Town.
Phelisa Bata-Jubase from the social services office said Tyutyu Ward 35 is one of the localities where they facilitated community development services in the King William’s Town communities.
“The whole process is underpinned by the objective of promoting and facilitating community development services targeting poor communities – especially youth and women – towards sustainability and self-reliance in the Buffalo City Metropolitan municipality through consistent engagements with the community that involves awareness programmes, information sharing sessions, crossed interviews, dialogues and household profiling,” Bata-Jubase said.
“It was through household profiling that we identified the challenge and sad story of this boy,” she said.
Bata-Jubase said the boy lived with his paternal aunt and is doing Grade 11.
“Both his biological parents who were not married are deceased and the household consists of four family members who are staying in a three-roomed shack.
She said: “The boy, like most of his friends and other young boys, desperately wants to go to the initiation school later this month but the family is struggling as there are no funds for the whole process of circumcision.”
The boy needs to be assisted with two blankets (one when he undergoes circumcision, another when he returns) and also need clothing such as trousers, T-shirt, shirt, jacket, head cap, shoes, socks, underwear and items for the celebration ceremony.
Anyone wishing to stretch out a helping hand can contact Phelisa Bata-Jubase on 060-432-5415 or Zamo Dukada on 071-031-3455.
