On February 12th, A21 A-Team Plett in partnership with the Bitou 10 Foundation, had the privilege of speaking to the Grade 7s at Harkerville Primary, as part of the ongoing 16 Days campaign to raise awareness in every school in the Bitou area about the global crisis of human trafficking. 

Over 50 million people worldwide are victims of trafficking, and an alarming 64% of the victims in Africa are children. This is a crisis we cannot ignore. We are working to empowering young people to recognise the signs and take action to prevent this modern-day slavery. 

The students were engaged and attentive, learning about the signs to watch out for online and in real life. They were shocked by the staggering statistics and the hidden dangers of trafficking that they hadn’t known before. The questions they asked—about things they had heard about or seen in their communities—showed just how important it is to have these conversations. 

We’re so encouraged by how seriously the students took the warnings and their commitment to spreading the word and the A21 National Human Trafficking Hotline ( 0800 222 777 ) to help keep our communities safe. We’ll be returning later in February to speak to the Grade 6s as well, continuing our mission to educate and empower the youth in the Bitou area. 

A huge thank you to Principal Ms. Mahmood for allowing us to visit and for inviting us back to speak to the Grade 6s too. We also want to thank Grade 7 teacher Ms. Baartman for showing the Sound of Freedom movie to the students, further educating them on the global fight against human trafficking.