Mia van der Merwe: The power of pets

“Self-esteem means loving yourself, loving other people next to you and also loving your pets,” Xabiso Mnyamana (15) explains as he pours water into a plastic dog bowl. To prove to his community that “animals are a gift from God,” Xabiso decided to participate in project BOOST’s pet care initiative.

BOOST is a photojournalism campaign which aspires to improve the self-esteem of Grahamstown’s youth, by giving them the opportunity to represent themselves through photography. The project’s areas of focus are sport, arts and culture, appearance and pet care. Six children were involved in the pet section, which aimed to make the youth more aware of their responsibilities and to emphasize the importance of their role within their families and society.

“A dog can’t walk to the fridge and give itself a glass of water. It’s nice to know something is dependent on you,” BOOST participant Tandia Olivier (17) explains as Dutchie the dachshund curls up on her lap. According to the Pet Care Trust (an American public foundation) pets encourage nurturing, teach responsibility and help build self esteem. Helping to take care of a pet gives a child a sense of pride and accomplishment, especially if the animal is able to return the affection.

Although Xabiso, a learner from CM Vellem High School, does not have his own pet, everyone living in his street looks after COPE; a dog named after The Congress of the People. Xabiso believes that having a pet is like having a child. He feels that by learning how to take care of an animal, he will know how to take care of his own family one day.

To further inform the participants on proper pet care and animal cruelty, field trips to the Grahamstown SPCA were organised, where Inspector Maloli Dingana shared his knowledge and stories with the children. “Due to project BOOST, I've been more aware of the SPCA and their work these last couple of weeks,” Tandia adds as she shares her hopes for the project. By collaborating with the SPCA, BOOST and its participants produced posters with helpful hints for all dog owners.

A series of portraits were taken of the children and their pets, which were exhibited in Eden Grove at Rhodes University on the 18^th of October. Xabiso saw this as an opportunity to set an example on how to care for animals. “I want people to see I'm just a kid and I am just growing up”, he says as he pats COPE on her head. “I want grown-ups to realise that if a young boy can do this, why can’t they?”