Hero teacher soothes young Cape Town children while gunshots erupt nearby

CapeTalk’s Lester Kiewit speaks with Norman Jantjies, Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum Chairperson.

Listen below:

A video from Yellowwood Primary shows grade R students lying face down on their classroom floor while gunshots erupt nearby.

The teacher tries to keep them calm, playing soothing piano music and instructing them to close their eyes and focus on the sound.

This heartbreaking video highlights the devastating reality that even our youngest children in gang-affected communities face every day.

Jantjies says this is a terrible situation, but it is unfortunately just what people in these communities face.

“Mitchells Plain and many other communities on the Cape Flats experience gun violence on a daily basis.”

- Norman Jantjies, Chairperson - Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum

RELATED: Casualties of their communities: 63 Western Cape children killed 'not by strangers' in 5 months

He says he admires the school for developing this protocol to protect children from trauma.

“They have a fantastic system.” 

- Norman Jantjies, Chairperson - Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum

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