3D REFLECTIONS OF LIFE

Mr Cogill, one of the janitors at Levana Primary school had another duty added to his weekend roster: looking after an injured ringed dove. The dove was stroked ever so tenderly by its carer. I saw the pair standing on the stoep in the sun on Saturday morning. The dove was cupped in Mr Cogill's rather large hands for such a small framed man.   Apparently children pelted stones at the harmless bird. Mr Cogill found the bird on the school's premises and nursed it, creating a warm bed for the injured bird in his store room. Because the weather was good, Mr Cogill decided to stand in the sun with 'Dove 4552'. There is a nasty hole just under its wing where the wing joins the body. If only the children knew their idea of fun - throwing stones at birds - is a cruel sport.   The ring on the dove contained key information. I visited the Sonpo website as indicated on the ring to see if we could track the owner of Dove 4552. I learned that the country of origin also features on...

Learners pledging their commitment to uphold the anti-bully code   Term 2 of this year has started just two days ago. And so has the shooting between two rival gangs in the Lavender Hill area. This morning was no different. In the Lavender Hill township, learning, looking for employment and dodging bullets are par for the course.   At about eight o clock this morning, while the learners were walking to school, gunshots were fired from one block of flats to another block of flats further north. Only an open field of about 500m separates these blocks of flats. This very field is the one that the learners of the primary schools of Levana and Hillwood and Lavender Hill High school use to get to school on time. Between the three schools the learner pedestrian traffic is in the region of 3 600 learners. When the children leave their homes in the morning, they become moving targets, already at risk less than 500m from home or school.     When I arrived at Hillwood Primary ...