Let’s save our children from themselves

Mbuso Ndhlovu – Opinion
The first two weeks of March probably made it the saddest month in living memory. The country lost four precious school children — two boys and two girls — who had been pushed to the brink, through their own hands, we were all left with more questions than answers.

Many still can’t comprehend what happened in those 13 days while some shrugged their shoulders c’est la vie. Such is life indeed.

Fourteen-year-old Rumbidzai Chimusasa committed suicide in a toilet at Mutare’s St Mary’s Secondary School in Chikanga suburb. The Manica Post reported that she “had just been reprimanded for aberrant behaviour by her grandmother.”

Ms Juliet Mafunga is said to have advised Rumbi to stop ties with some of her friends and stop returning home late.

A heartbroken Ms Mafunga was left wondering, “I am not sure if I was wrong in trying to show my granddaughter the right way. Was I supposed to let her be while she was destroying her future?”

Questions without answers.

It seems the grandmother had also chastised her own daughter together with Rumbidzai but probably feeling discriminated against somehow, Rumbi took it badly.

The nation then sat upright when it was reported that another girl had done the unthinkable. This time it was in Luveve, Bulawayo, where a Form 1 pupil allegedly killed herself without leaving a message. The girl was overwhelmed by something that we will never know but she evidently could not handle it on her own.

For some strange reason, sad love songs come to mind. Bananarama’s Cruel Summer or Toto’s Hold the Line are grim reminders of how it feels losing a loved one. Listening to Brenda Russell’s Piano in the dark, Hootie and the Blowfish on Let her cry or Player with his Baby come back surely rips the heart out for those left behind. Moreso, when the kids did not leave any suicide notes.

So when a 15-year-old Hamilton High School boy took his own life teachers, parents and education officials were left stunned. Just what spirit has taken over our schools, they wondered.

There was an overwhelming response to the tragedy unfolding before us. All public spaces, especially in Bulawayo, had people discussing possible solutions to the new developments. While there were various opinions on what could have been the trigger, it was generally agreed that something, whatever it was, just needed to be done and very fast.

While the nation was still enmeshed with trying to come up with a solution, it was reported that yet another pupil had given up on life.

This time it was Prince Tawonezvi, an 18-year-old Form 6 pupil at the Zimbabwe Republic Police High School in Borrowdale, Harare. It was difficult to understand how someone attending such a prestigious boarding school and on the verge of knocking on any university’s doors could surrender.

Looking at all the cases of students’ suicide, it appears everything was fine on the surface yet simmering with anger and hurt inside. A reminder to our young people is necessary at all times that nobody can ever handle the pressures of life on their own.

There is nothing new under the sun and one will be shocked to find out how many others have experienced exactly what they are going through.

Martin Luther King Jr is often cited as saying, “As my sufferings mounted, I soon realised that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation — either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.”

That must be inculcated in our children. They need to choose life and fight to preserve it.

The challenges that we encounter may appear insurmountable but many have walked down that path and came out victorious. There is always a solution to any problem but just like in class, we might need to work as a group to find the answers.

As a nation, we must focus on supporting the impacted families and revisiting our efforts to prevent these horrifying scenarios. We can’t simply shrug our shoulders and move on. It is time we draw a line and say “no more kids need to die by their own hand”. Every school must have a counsellor as it was in the old days when senior masters doubled up as guidance and counselling teachers. Pupils need to feel secure and trust the counsellors. It is sad that the Mutare girl had a counsellor at her school but she never approached her and chose to keep her problems to herself.

The Catholic Church which runs the school has counsellors at all its institutions. But are they approachable? What happened in the first half of March must never happen again.

As Nelson Mandela aptly noted, “Life is a course with endless obstacles to hurdle.” As parents and communities, there is a need for us to assure our children that we are always there for them and we will prioritise their well-being. As a nation, we can’t afford to lose our youths, our future leaders as we might end up with an aged population.

Young people are necessary to run productive industries that will finance the medical needs of their aged pensioners. Their premature demise will affect us all in our old age hence the need to curtail this unfortunate development among our school kids.