Social media has its pros and cons, one of the pros is the speed at which messages travel. And that’s what one pupil is hoping will stem the tide of bullying. She’s inventing a new app which will act as a repository for stories from victims.
Grade 9 pupil Atang Mooko, became a victim of bullying after a religious ritual following the death of her father two years ago.
“I had to shave off my hair for traditional reasons, when I got back to school, a girl in a lower grade called me a boy in a skirt at the tuck shop – it really broke me down, I became very uncomfortable in my own skin and I felt awkward at school and I became depressed,” said Mooko.
The 15-year old was forced to change schools: “It went around WhatsApp and social media platforms, I dropped very badly. I started failing maths and English, it was difficult because I had to face these bullies every day, sometimes in class.”
Now she plans to reverse this situation by creating an anti-bullying app. “The name of the app is called To Your Rescue and when you open the app you will have a search bar, you will be typing your problem and a list of solutions will pop up and we also have a chatroom where you chat anonymously – whether you are a bully or are being bullied. You exchange experiences and you come up with solutions as well.”
