Children all over the world are among the most vulnerable
and least able to get information, support and help when they are in need. The
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasises that no child should be
left alone.
Children need the opportunity to get help anywhere and all
times but in most cases children suffer in silence. They face different kinds
of abuses from everyone around them including their parents and their close
relatives.
Upon seeing that many
abused children find themselves clueless and with nowhere to seek help, YONECO
introduced Tithandizane child helpline in the year 2006. This is a toll free number where there
are well trained and qualified counsellors ready to help them. When children
are abused or feel that their needs are
ignored or misunderstood by adults or others around them they go for YONECO’s child
helpline service or they just simply
dial 80001234. The helpline being a
toll free number, it gives a chance to those children who cannot afford to pay
for the calls.
Adults who also have the welfare of children at heart use
this number to tip YONECO on the abuses that are being faced by a child or
children in their areas.
The service also
involves outreach activities whereby a helpline team of counsellors go out to
different localities to conduct outreach activities. The aim is to reach out to
children who are unable to reach the service through phone either due to lack
of knowledge of the service or because they cannot manage to find a phone to
call the helpline number. Furthermore, other children do not report different
kinds of abuses they face in their day to day lives because they are not aware
of the rights which the constitution bestowed on them. Thus, inconsideration of these aforementioned
factors, YONECO goes out to the areas with fully packed messages for the
leaders of tomorrow. This is a commendable effort to ensure that all children in
this country are given an opportunity to speak out their concerns and be heard
as well.
Ever since this
innovation came into play, a lot of children who were facing different kinds of
abuses have been bailed out from the hardships after they or someone called the
helpline.
Let them speak out as the Tithandizane Helpline does in creating
the proper channels for their voices to be heard!!!
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