THIS show is both educational and entertaining - crucial ingredients of any successful television show

Aimed at both parents and children, Soul Buddyz, the very popular TV series is back. This is the programme that all parents and children want to watch together on the small screen on Mondays at 7pm on SABC1.

This real-life television drama has been specifically developed for children between the ages of 8 and 14 as well as for their parents.

The latest Soul Buddyz series is part of the Phuza Wize campaign, a national initiative to change the way South Africa thinks and drinks.

The programme focuses on the impact alcohol has on children and what parents, teachers and children can do to change this.

This subject is very important, particularly in the light of recent media reports of people driving drunk and causing mayhem on our roads.

Thandiwe Nxumalo-Kunutu, the programme' s series manager, says: "This series shows the impact of alcohol on children and follows the story of a group of children who try to rid their school and community of alcohol. It encourages school children to get involved in making their schools alcohol-free zones.

"The campaign has 130000 children in 6500 Soul Buddyz Clubs around the country, who are trying to get their schools to implement the existing policy or to draw up an alcohol-free policy and maintain this status on an ongoing basis," Nxumalo-Kunutu says.

The series showcases a group of teenagers and their journey as individuals and a team and highlights their joy, pain, challenges and triumphs.