Proseed Youth Development
Mamelani’s Youth Development Programme continues to provide much needed support to young people as they transition from the Child and Youth Care Centres back to their communities. To read more about the gap in services that Mamelani addresses, please read this important article.
Since the start of the year, facilitators have been connecting with the young people through individual sessions as well as experiential group activities. 90% of the participants from last year have reapplied to participate in the programme again this year – a testament to the value they place on the support they are receiving. We have also begun the process of recruiting a new group of young people who will start their journey with us in June of this year. Youth feedback shows the impact the programme has had on their lives:
“The most important thing that I have learned from this journey with Mamelani, is knowing myself – my strengths and my weaknesses – and how to deal with hard situations. Having people who are walking alongside me in my life has really helped me because if I didn’t have this support behind me I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
“This programme has given me a chance to express myself, a chance to be a leader. Mamelani stands behind me, helping me to see that I can make decisions for myself, and I can be a success – that has been the most powerful for me. I enjoy this process more because I am involved with what happens in my life”.
We have also continued to support young people who have already made the transition care. Nelson, one of the graduates from the programme is now working as a Barista. We are excited to see how well he is doing in his new job! Mzukiseni recently ran a successful fundraising campaign to raise money for his matric ball. He called on his network of support to sponsor him to run up Table Mountain 3 times so he could cover the costs and make this night a night to remember! We want to thank everyone who supported him.
Capacity Building Programme
With the support of the Department of Social Development and other funders, Mamelani continues to work with partner Child and Youth Care Centers to strengthen the transitional support that they are able to provide to the young people in their care. The second phase of the intervention has begun, which is focused on institutionalising the transitional support programmes at each Center. Mamelani was invited to present the outcomes of last year’s learning process at a recent Provincial Child Protection Forum Meeting. It was exciting to share our learnings and experiences with key stakeholders.
We were also lucky to be involved in a two-day learning exchange hosted by The World Childhood Foundation at the Novalis Institute. It was a wonderful experience to meet and share with organisations from both Cape Town and Johannesburg. The group visited local projects and sessions were facilitated exploring different ways to monitor impact, ensure sustainability and work towards effective replication. Mamelani would like to thank Britta and Susanne from World Childhood Foundation for making this type of engagement possible
