A morning at the Sandton Police Station

SAGDB learners and their heroes at the Sandton Police Station

A group of children from the SAGDB enjoyed an unique outing towards the end of 2011 when they were the guests of the Sandton Community Police Forum (CPF). The youngsters from Alexandra, Bramley and surrounding areas were invited to the Sandton police station to get a glimpse of what goes on in its daily operations.

The initiative was part of Sandton CPF chairman Wendy Vorster-Robertson's ongoing involvement with the SAGDB. For many years she has collected used golf clothing and equipment in good condition that can be passed on to the development programme. She has now combined the handover of this equipment with her role within the CPF.

"I believe that, because of our heritage as South Africans, the community has been taught to disrespect the police and unfortunately this tradition still lingers," said Vorster-Robertson. "So we walked the kids around the station, introducing them to police officers and creating trust towards the police."

The children responded very positively to the outing, which gave them a new perspective on the work done by the service.

"We also portrayed joining the SAPS as a possible career for these youngsters," Vorster-Robertson said. "And we gave them a peep into the cell block, which was quite sobering for some of them."

The visit ended with the handover of the clothing and equipment to the SAGDB players. All of them were delighted with the donation that included clubs, bags, shirts, gloves, hats and shoes.

On top of the positive effect of the day on the children, Vorster-Robertson believed that the police benefited as well.

"I also noticed that the police officers themselves walked taller when they were interacting with the kids," she explained. "I believe they felt a sense of pride and purpose and also a bit of 'hero status', which obviously has many positive effects on the force."