This is how it all started...

Every story has a beginning, every big movement starts with one or two people who dare to defy the status quo.  This is my story and how I have come to fight against bullying in schools...

At the end of last year (2010) I was in dire need for a topic for my masters thesis which would commence at the start of this year (2011).  It got to such a point that I had sleepless nights.  It so happened that my little cousin, 10 at the time, was having trouble at school.

Now, I know every child has trouble at school at some or other point in their lives and when you enter puberty you feel awkward and as though you don't fit in...but when a child of 10 develops a school phobia, has suicidal thoughts and has to be put on anti-depressants, due to school bullying, you have to ask yourself, how normal that is. In all honesty, its not.

So, I started delving into bullying.  The more I read, the more horrified I became.  Why?  Because people just don't care.  The general opinion seems to be that bullying is "horsing around", it's nothing, a child should "man up" and stop complaining...but when children start taking their own lives or lash out violently to such an extent that they bring weapons to school and kill other children JUST TO BE HEARD, how innocent is bullying really?

This made me realise that something needs to be done and fast.  Would I send my children into such an environment? Never.  So why would I allow kids that I, to be hurt.  It just doesn't make sense to me.  How could people turn a blind eye to the pleas of children?

Bullying is such a serious issue, touching on so many various areas that it is very hard to wrap your mind around.  It is a field of study you can devote your whole life to, and it might still not be enough to fully grasp and understand, however, change starts with one person.

I have decided that something needs to change.  Children in South Africa have the right to feel safe at school.  I may be only one person, but one person is enough to start a revolution...

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - Gandhi