The Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders believes that it has had a successful initiation school season with less fatalities than the previous years.
The first group of initiates was welcomed back home at the weekend, with the last group expected to make its way home this weekend.
Only one death was reported at over 700 initiation schools.
Chief Malesela Dikgale says the single death recorded, that of a six-year-old boy in Bolobedu, is cause for concern.
“We are just disappointed that we lost a child in the Bolobedu area. We did not want to have anyone losing his life. But now because we lost a child, we’re just saddened by the death of that child and we are saying, may his soul rest in peace. This week we will be able to check that everyone comes back on the 25th or 24th and I’m sure we wouldn’t be having any initiation school running in the province,” adds Chief Dikgale.
Parents of initiates were in a jubilant mood as they celebrated the return of their children
“I feel great because today they are coming back home. They are going to see their parents and everything is well and we are happy about it,” said one jubilant parent.
A traditional surgeon at Tafelkop, Isaac Makua, says he received support from various stakeholders to enable him to operate properly.
Makua says, “We had succeeded to run the initiation schools. We didn’t have any death and that was because of support we get from local traditional leaders and COGHSTA and also the Health Department was guiding us.”
