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A teacher from KwaZulu-Natal, Mzikayise Ndlovu, known as Mzi, believes that school vegetable gardens can help solve the problem of malnutrition among children and is actively promoting this idea. He aims to establish vegetable gardens in every rural school in KwaZulu-Natal and beyond.

Ndlovu, who grew up in Kranskop, has personal experience with poverty and lack of nutritious food. This experience motivated him to become a teacher and work as a lead drama programmer on Radio Khwezi, where he spent his free time tending to the station's gardens. While working at Khwezi, he learned about the Emseni Farming project, which implements school vegetable gardens and provides agricultural training to local residents. He observed how youth were learning during youth conferences and were encouraged to start their own gardens.

Emseni has been teaching schools and communities for years how to grow vegetables at home and in schools, often providing seedlings to get started. Ndlovu decided that this project aligned with his vision of helping the community and became actively involved in it.

In September, Ndlovu, in collaboration with the organization Humana People to People in SA and in partnership with Emseni, organized agricultural training and invited preschool administrators to a seminar. The goal was to provide them with knowledge on how to start and maintain a school vegetable garden instead of buying vegetables from local supermarkets. Both organizations support joint initiatives to create vegetable gardens.

They initially started work at Khulakahle Pre-School in the Ndvedwe area and then moved to Emthonjaneni Rise and Shine Pre-School in Mandeni. They were provided with 600 seedlings of cabbage, beetroot, and spinach to support these gardens. Nine preschoolers from Ndvedwe and seventeen from Mandeni participated in the event, learning more about where vegetables come from.

Ndlovu's approach goes beyond simple gardening: it integrates practical agricultural education with traditional education and school sports, creating a holistic environment for development. His efforts are aimed not only at alleviating hunger and malnutrition among students but also at inspiring 12th-grade students to set higher goals for their future. Through collaboration with various strategic partners, he is strengthening community resilience one school at a time, encouraging people to take responsibility for their lives. Vegetable gardens also contribute to family self-sufficiency.

Through this initiative, Ndlovu and his team are not just planting seeds in the ground; they are sowing seeds of hope and ambition in the hearts and minds of young learners.

Ndlovu and his partners have visited many schools in remote areas of KwaZulu-Natal, where they have started vegetable gardens involving students and teachers. Recently, the team visited Beacon Ridge Primary School in Chatsworth and then went to Kethor Ridge, where they visited Jerusalem Church and helped start a vegetable garden there. They plan to harvest and consume the grown vegetables, selling any surplus for income.

In South Africa, many children face the harsh reality of attending school with empty stomachs, spending days without proper nutrition. This alarming situation threatens their health and significantly reduces academic performance and overall well-being. To address this pressing issue, schools can implement sustainable solutions such as establishing vegetable gardens. These gardens can provide nutritious food while simultaneously teaching students the principles of self-sufficiency and the importance of nutrition.

China declared the eradication of absolute poverty in February 2021 after all remaining 98.99 million rural residents below the then national poverty line were lifted out of it. This concluded a forty-year campaign.

According to data from the Chinese government and the World Bank, over 800 million people were raised above the extreme poverty threshold during this period, accounting for more than 70% of global poverty reduction. Following this announcement, a five-year transition period was established, aimed at consolidating achievements and preventing people from falling back into poverty. This period concluded by the end of 2025 with the creation of regular relapse prevention mechanisms. International observers closely monitored this process.

Creating risk prevention mechanisms

There is no guarantee that people who have escaped poverty will remain outside of it. Illness, crop failure, job loss, or a major unforeseen expense can once again push a household below the established threshold. China's response was to create a system for subsequent monitoring of these risks.

This system relies on several channels: self-reports from rural households, scheduled inspections by local officials, and data analysis for sudden changes in income, medical expenses, housing conditions, and school attendance. When a risk is identified, a verification and assistance process is launched, where local authorities organize support for that household. Official reports following the central rural conference in 2025 indicate a shift towards systematic relapse prevention mechanisms rather than temporary measures.

John Bailey, CEO of the South African media platform Sunday World, visited the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwestern China four times. After his last visit, he noted that China's program is characterized by a high degree of focus and coordination with the rural revitalization program, reflecting systemic planning and long-term vision. He believes that poverty can be eliminated when there is leadership, political framework, accountability, and sustainable investment in people.

Treating causes, not just symptoms

China's strategy fundamentally changed when it became clear that national development growth was not helping all segments of the population, leading to questions about the reasons for persistent difficulties among certain groups. By 2013, poor people were concentrated in remote areas. Eric Bigon, a commentator from Kenya who visited Guizhou province in southwestern China, observed that these communities faced 'structural barriers' that could not simply be overcome by broad economic growth.

As a result, China developed a model of targeted poverty reduction. Instead of applying a universal approach, officials collected information on millions of households, including their income level, education, health status, and specific factors contributing to their poverty. Assistance was then tailored to the needs of each family.

Robert Walker, a member of the British Academy of Social Sciences, points out that traditional poverty reduction programs often fail because they merely provide money without addressing the root problems. China's experience represents a large-scale, practical example of how such an approach can work. For instance, Juncao—a hybrid grass developed in Fujian province in southeastern China to support mushroom cultivation. When introduced in Rwanda in 2006, it provided rural households with an inexpensive, locally manageable way to generate income and improve nutrition.

Citing official reports, the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda reported that this technology helped lift over 37,000 local farmers out of poverty due to its 'low cost, simplicity of application, and short growth cycle.' The technology also did not require large infrastructure investments or complex administrative systems.

Empowerment-expanding approaches

Speaking at the Global Forum on Poverty Reduction and Development in Beijing in 2026, Wangsei Visot, Permanent Deputy Premier of Cambodia, emphasized that the main lesson from China's experience is not to copy its actions, but to understand the principles of its implementation and adapt them to local conditions.

Former Peruvian Prime Minister Javier Velásquez Quesken agreed, noting that a crucial part of China's success in lifting 800 million people out of extreme poverty is the design of public services that considers people's right to development. For Ayak Aver Chan Liol, who works at the Office of the Vice President of South Sudan Benjamin Bol Mel, this lesson is deeply personal. After participating in a poverty reduction training program in Ningxia in 2025, Liol said it was inspiring to see that 'if Ningxia can do it, then Africa, South Sudan in particular, can also do it.'

For other developing countries seeking their own strategies, China's experience is extremely valuable. Global progress in the fight against poverty has slowed in many regions, and solutions require flexibility. Perhaps China's most useful contribution is not a ready-made template to imitate, but the light it sheds on what is possible through acquired experience.

A recent incident where an eight-year-old boy attacked a six-year-old girl at school has caused widespread concern across India. This event highlighted the issue of violence's impact on children and the growing difficulties in combating aggressive behavior in early childhood.

The boy, a third-grade student at a government school, brutally attacked the girl from the same school in Panchkula, Haryana, in northern India, last month. The attack, captured on video surveillance, involved the child repeatedly hitting her head against a desk, throwing a pot of flowers at her, and then kicking her while she lay on the floor.

The boy, whose identity is protected by law, lured the girl into an empty classroom by falsely telling her that her father had come to visit, after which he began the assault. He later accompanied the girl's teachers and parents to the classroom where she was found unconscious after classes and taken to the hospital. A video of her leaving the hospital amidst cheers went viral on social media last week.

The boy was initially sent to a shelter for observation but was subsequently released. He is currently undergoing psychological evaluation to determine the reasons behind his outburst of violence.

This incident has sparked panic among parents of young children, who express anxiety about their children's safety even in the school environment. Sanchi Yadav, mother of a ten-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy, told Khaleej Times: 'It was a shocking incident; the details are horrifying. I couldn't stop thinking about my children's safety. My son is the same age as that girl.'

Yadav added that such cruelty and aggression are unimaginable, yet parents know that children watch aggressive videos and become impatient and intolerant.

Her concerns are supported by facts: there is a sharp rise in cases of violence involving children aged 12 and under in India. In June this year, police in the western city of Jaipur arrested three children aged 10 to 12 on suspicion of murdering a twelve-year-old boy over remarks made by one of the accused sisters. The child's skull was found in the sewage system.

In another case, three students allegedly attacked a twelve-year-old class monitor with a blade after he maintained discipline in a queue at a private school in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In the same city in 2025, a fifteen-year-old student was reportedly slashed by another student near the school with a folding stationery knife; the victim died in the hospital, and the teenager was arrested.

Experts are increasingly concerned about the influence of excessive screen time, violent video games, and unregulated access to social media on aggressive behavior and children's ability to manage anger. These games often feature shooting, fighting, and killing opponents, rewarding players for achieving goals or defeating others.

Three Indian sisters committed suicide by jumping from the ninth floor of a building near Delhi in February, allegedly influenced by an unknown Korean task-based gaming application. Such a game caused widespread alarm in the country in 2017 as it was linked to suicides and self-harm among children and adolescents.

The lawyer representing the boy told the media that he was addicted to violent mobile games where players attack virtual characters to earn points. Psychologists argue that platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and other short-video apps promote the spread of violence through videos showing physical fights, assaults, humiliation, and dangerous stunts. Children become accustomed to this and stop fearing the consequences.

Dr. Pulkit Sharma, a clinical psychologist, noted: 'Almost every child has a phone or uses their parents' phones. The problem is not the AI or social media itself, but that the algorithms are so automated that if a child watches a video about anger or aggression, the platform starts recommending more such content.' He continued: 'This can color the mind of a susceptible child, and they can be deeply affected by this exposure. We cannot control the content, aggression, or violence. Everything they observe becomes generalized behavior.'

Experts also point to unregulated emotions in children. One factor is the family environment. Due to nuclear families, busy parents, and lack of time, children cannot receive attention or express their feelings. Dr. Sharma added that dysfunctional families, neglect, emotional instability, lack of discipline, excessive pampering, and affection further contribute to feelings of insecurity and frustration in children.

He emphasized: 'Life has become extremely fast, and people have become increasingly busy. Emotional availability is largely absent.' According to him, due to the almost complete breakdown of human support systems, children are left alone with strong negative emotions, which manifest as raw aggression, violence, or even self-harm. They may harm themselves, cut their skin, or harm others.

The situation is exacerbated by the shortage of qualified counselors and trained mental health professionals in schools. Although there is no nationwide requirement in India for assigning a qualified counselor in every school, the Centre has a system requiring the appointment of a dedicated counselor in secondary and senior schools affiliated with CBSE.

Dr. Shweta Sharma, a psychologist from the Paneli Juvenile Court in Gurgaon, noted: 'This child from Panchkula should have shown behavioral triggers that could have been identified as signs of aggression, but this identification was missing because there were no counselors in the government school.' She also pointed out that even private schools do not hire counselors or distribute them among 30–40 students; the ratio is inadequate.

Recent cases involving young children have once again raised questions about the existing age of criminal responsibility in India. According to current Indian legal frameworks, any person under 18 is considered a child, and those under seven cannot be held criminally responsible. Children between the ages of seven and twelve are exempt from criminal liability if they lack the maturity to understand the nature and consequences of their actions.

Meanwhile, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015 allows children aged 16 to 18 accused of serious crimes to undergo a preliminary assessment to determine their mental and physical capacity to commit the crime and understand its circumstances before a decision is made regarding adult court proceedings.

There have been instances where teenagers avoided criminal punishment in cases of negligent driving resulting in pedestrian deaths. Some argue that exceptional cases involving children should be treated differently. Dr. Shweta stated: 'Every case is individual, and the court must have the ability to decide on intervention; there must be some adaptation depending on the case.'

However, legal experts warn that placing young offenders in adult prisons can be counterproductive, exposing them to hardened criminals and sharply increasing the risk of recidivism. Ravi Birbal, a Supreme Court advocate, said: 'Neuroscientific research shows that impulse control is not fully developed until early adulthood. The law cannot change brain development. What is definitely necessary is strict control over individuals who abuse, manipulate, or lure minors into crime.'

Birbal stressed the need to increase awareness, education, sensitivity, and accountability among teachers and parents to identify behavioral problems and prevent children from involvement in crime. She added: 'Special homes and safe havens for minors are not easy conditions, and teenagers aged 16 to 18 can always be imprisoned later for serious crimes if the Juvenile Court deems it necessary. The entire judicial process is turbulent.' She concluded: 'These children lose formative years of their lives. In fact, people treat these punishments as a taboo, avoiding and ignoring them for too long.'

She emphasized that 'the ultimate solution is raising awareness.' Birbal specifically noted that steps forward include 'improving the education system, having competent teachers, ensuring accountability, installing CCTV cameras in schools and public places, providing good nutrition to students, and conducting spiritual education.'