City Press recently made Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) GLAD^[1] of the article, “No toilets and no support from the state” (05/05/2019, p.6) in which a child was accessed and positively portrayed.

The article takes readers to a school in the Eastern Cape that is reported to not have operational toilets for its learners. The journalist, Lubabalo Ngcukana, spoke to four different sources including a grade two learner who is also pictured in the story.

The learner, Olana Chako who is portrayed positively, is shown in the accompanying photograph in front of her classmates. One can see that the learner is not happy about the toilet situation but the image shows her in a powerful way as a child with agency.

It is also clear that the journalist made an effort to engage with the child even before asking her questions about the toilets. The learner is introduced as a source as “Olana Chako, who wants to be a nurse”. Olana is reported to have said that “all she wanted was for the government to build toilets for her school, even if they did not build new classrooms.”

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states in Article 12, “States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.”

This is further backed by MMA’s Editorial Guidelines and Principles for Reporting on Children in the Media which urge journalists to access children. The Guidelines state, “Children have a right to have their views heard on matters that affect them, so try and include them.”

It is refreshing to see journalists adhering to the UNCRC and the Editorial guidelines and Principles on Reporting on Children in the Media.

Not only does this article put children’s issues at the forefront, it also actively looks for solutions to the problem, including accessing the Provincial Education Department to ask what they are doing about the matter.

We commend Lubabalo Ngcukana and City Press for highlighting this important issue while respecting children’s rights to speak in matters affecting them.

By Amanda Rowen

^[1] A GLAD is awarded when journalists report positively and responsibly on children