One problem that seems to arise frequently is irresponsible parenting. The consensus among social workers is that parents are not meeting social workers halfway. “Parents are not logical about parenting their children,” said one social worker who made reference about a woman in Diepsloot who left her baby girl alone overnight, coming back to find that the baby had passed away.

The iSiqalo programme equips social workers to be non-judgemental and to empower parents with the tools they receive during their training. Social workers find themselves with the confidence to link clients with resources and follow up with cases to prevent clients from falling back into similar life situations. It is a process and at Valued Citizens Initiative we remind our professionals that will bring about change one case and one community at a time.