Fight Alcohol And Teen Drinking!!!

Alcohol and drug abuse is making inroads in Aberdeen - I have noticed a tremendous abuse of alcohol and drugs amongst children under the age of 21 and this is a sad story for our small dorpie. One might say that the root cause of this is as a result of the lack of sports facilities which in turn leads to the young lions of Aberdeen roaming the streets of town. The other side of the coin mat well be the fact that there's too many “smokkelhuise” in our very small town. Once again, this is a worrying factor for Aberdeen and I think that our youth need to take this into cognisance.
A child who reaches the age of 21 without ever having smoked, abused alcohol or used drugs is virtually an unknown. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are not only adult problems - they also affect a significant number of adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 20 - even though drinking under the age of 18 is illegal. The average age when youth first try alcohol is approximately 11 years for boys and 13 years for girls. By age 14, 41% of children have had at least one drink. Teens who begin drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. I have personally noticed 15 and 16 year old children abusing alcohol in Aberdeen. The onset of drinking at an early age is also associated with alcohol-related violence, not only among persons under the age of 21, but also among adults in our dorpie. It has been estimated that over three million teenagers are out-and-out alcoholics. Several more millions have a serious drinking problem that they cannot manage on their own. Drinking, often beginning around age 13, tends to increase during adolescence, peaking in young adulthood (age 18-22) then gradually increasing. Individuals who increase their binge drinking from age 18 to 24 and those who consistently binge drink at least once a week during this period, may have problems attaining the goals typical of the transition period from adolescence to young adulthood (e.g. marriage, education, attainment, financial independence, etc.).
I think all of us have a responsibility to cultivate better behavior for young children in Aberdeen. We all want to see Aberdeen producing medical doctors and other professionals. We need to develop a mechanism together with our local Municipality through the by-laws and take control of this abuse. We also need to encourage our schools to instill a culture of learning amongst our youth. In fact, I think we should encourage them to start a book club that will motivate them to read a lot and thereby empower their mind set.

Article By: Lulamile Klassen

Aberdeen Sport Awards Ceremony 2008

On Friday 30th January 2009, an award ceremony was held in the Aberdeen Secondary School for sporting achievements in 2008.
This event was organized by the Sport, Arts and Culture Committee of Ward One Aberdeen, and the Programme Director was Mr. Desmond Coetzee.
This ceremony was attended by Mayor Daantjie Jaftha, by Mr T.D. Desha an ex-Deputy Mayor of Aberdeen, by Mr Pannies from the Department of Education, and by the Ward One Councilors of Aberdeen.
Schools receiving sports awards were Kamdebo Primary School, Luxolo Primary, Aberdeen Primary and Aberdeen High School.
Clubs who were present to receive awards were Everton Soccer Club, and Aberdeen Rugby Club.
The guest speakers of the evening, gave motivational talks on education and the importance of sport in today’s society, and explained to the learners receiving awards, that sport had now become an important profession. Talent and hard work could achieve great heights for any and all sports. Motivation and discipline was needed, and Mr. Pannies was impressed that a Springbok rugby player had come from Aberdeen, and had achieved these great heights.
This rugby player was the Sportsperson of the Year, Saloma Booysen who was presently in training in Port Elizabeth, for the 2009 Seven’s World Cup to be played in Dubai. Saloma is Captain of this team. In an article printed in the Advertiser in 2008, Saloma was given full recognition for all her achievements. Entertainment for the ceremony was by the New Apostolic Church Orchestra, and a modern dance was performed by learners of the Kamdebo Primary School.

Article By: Joan Tinker

Aberdeen Primary School A “Full Service School”

Mrs Basson with Grade 1 Learners

Assembly At Aberdeen Primary School

At 8am on Monday 20th January 2009, Aberdeen Primary School opened its doors as a “Full Service School”. This is an immensely progressive factor in education here in Aberdeen. For the first time, learners who are challenged by various learning-barriers will now be taught with their compatriots. The policy of ‘inclusive education’ has been implemented by the Department of Education, and this has created various challengers in the school system.
To accommodate learners with learning-barriers into the mainstream of the education system is the aim of ‘inclusive education’. The Department of Education identified Aberdeen Primary School as becoming a ‘full service school’. This school which is still in the pilot process of ‘inclusive education’ will be servicing the Cacadu district.
Aberdeen Primary School is privileged to have an educator, Mrs. Magda Smith who is trained in the field of ‘inclusive education’ teaching at Aberdeen Primary. Mrs. van der Merwe and Miss Maccie Swartbooi are presently taking courses in remedial teaching.
On Monday, the school hall was packed to capacity for the first assembly of the year with smartly dressed children in the school colours of green and gold, and with the parents of all the children who were beginning school for the first time. After a prayer was said, and after the singing of the school song, the Principal, Mrs. van der Merwe welcomed all the children returning after the holidays. She also welcomed the children beginning their school education, and especially those children who are challenged by various learning barriers. Mrs.van der Merwe requested that respect, and thoughtfulness be shown to all new pupils,
The teachers were introduced to the assembly, and new satchels were presented to all beginners. Certificates were also presented to the children who had not missed a single day of school in 2008. This was done to motivate attendance in 2009 by all learners.
Perhaps among all these bright inquiring and happy faces, there is a possibility of a young South African “Barak Obama”.

Mrs vd Merwe and The Prize Winners

Article By: Joan Tinker

Aberdeen In Mourning

On Thursday 22nd January 2009 at 1pm, the town of Aberdeen became still as it took on a somber feeling of grief. A large crowd of mourners filled the showground’s hall to capacity, to mourn the tragic passing of relatives and friends who were victims in the horrific taxi accident just outside Paarl in the Western Cape.

The service was conducted by Pastoor Kekana who spoke of the victims, Eltonio Fick, Hermanus “Erick” Mauply, Thandiwe Jantjies, Willie Adams and Maria Jackson, and expressed his sympathy to their relatives and friends.

Mayor D Japtha addressed the relatives and read a poem of remembrance to them. The mourners were addressed by Councilor V. Jacobs, Maureen Masimila and Calvin Olifant who gave words of comfort to the mourners.

A large tiered candelabra was lit in remembrance by all the relatives and flowers were presented to the immediate families by the Mayor on behalf of the newly formed Aberdeen Heritage Archive and Tourism Bureau. The Gospel Revolutions and the Aberdeen Lord Comforters sang “In the Land of Fadeless Day” and “Amazing Grace”.

As the large crowd filed out of the hall, spontaneous singing broke out in praise of those departed.

Article By: Joan Tinker

The Road Less Travelled!

A dark cloud is hanging over my small, home “dorpie” of Aberdeen following a a tragic event that occurred in the early hours of 14 January 2009.
I personally consider the N1 as the “Road of Death” and I'm sure many commuters regularly travelling this route will concur with me that this is the road to hell. I used to travel the very same road from Aberdeen to Cape Town every festive season for greener pastures. For the past ten years I honestly felt so relaxed when travelling with these very same taxis from our small “dorpie” of Aberdeen and I know every loyal citizen from the Camdeboo felt very safe and relaxed with our taxi operators. I always used to get worried when I only saw taxis from the then Transkei and Ciskei, travelling at very high speeds, especially during the festive season and over the Easter weekend.
I was preparing myself to go work whilst listening to the news on a local radio station in Cape Town. A taxi travelling from Aberdeen to Cape Town had a tyre blow-out at 2:45am just 3km from the Huguenot Tunnel – between the tollgate and the Paarl off-ramp, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to overturn. Five people lost their lives and 17, including 6 children, were injured.
Provincial Traffic Inspector Gaythen Cornelius said one of the children was seriously injured. Some patients were taken to Tygerberg, Paarl and Stellenbosch hospitals. I personally spoke to Captain John Waterhouse of Paarl police station. The scene was cleared by 6am and the road remained closed for a few hours. According to Captain Waterhouse, the taxi was completely written off.
I'm personally heart broken by this terrible accident but we can't blame God for what happened - it's His will. My suggestion - and I honestly mean this – is that the taxi owners need to slaughter a goat at the very same spot were the accident occurred, pray to the Creator and throw fresh cow dung; thereby chasing away the evil spirit from that road. This is based on the teachings of the great Sangoma Sanuse Crado Mutwa. I further urge our local authorities, churches and spiritual healers to embark upon spiritual cleansing of the N1 and N9. May their souls rest in peace.

Article By: Lulamile Klassen