“Pain, pain, pain and sorrow

There is an animal

The animal that bites and takes away the lives of people

It gets into our lives and leaves us with pain and tears

How heartless it is!

My children are crying

Crying for help

Their tears are flowing

Flowing like a river flows

Flowing on a mountain

But how they have ran out of tears

Still their hearts keep on getting broken

Time and time again

We are in a cave

A cave which is dark

Strong cold, like the night of Halloween

Still no one can hear us

Our hearts are burning

Burning like they are in a volcano

All left now is our ashes

Oh God, when will they find the weapon for this animal?

Oh, when will we get a rest?

Can’t you see the pain is burying in our hearts

Truly this burden is heavy”

– Samantha Sefa

These powerful words are those of a girl only in secondary school, a courageous young woman speaking out and standing up in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Written by Samatha Sefa, this poem is one of many beautiful pieces of written work done by Students Against Rape (SAR) club members around Maun. Whether it’s a short story, poem or spoken word, they all have a common goal; they all aim to bring light and awareness to these darker issues of our society.

It has been for more than ten years now that WoMen Against Rape (WAR) has been striving to influence the lives of student leaders, such as Samantha, through Students Against Rape (SAR) clubs. Currently running in over a dozen schools around Maun, SAR clubs have been able to reach hundreds of youths since establishment, and continue to make an impact on their lives, translating right back into the community. Although a focus is placed on engaging these youth on significant issues such as rape and abuse, SAR also makes it a priority to help the youth develop essential skills, such as critical thinking, public speaking and creative writing, as showcased through this poem. Being such a multi-faceted initiative, SAR plays an immense role within this younger generation, making it such important work. After all, this is the generation that is the future of tomorrow.