In the last two weeks of February the ProSeed team undertook the exciting task of facilitating a Capacity Building Workshop with staff from 6 child and youth care centres. This workshop is the second phase of an 18 month intervention, in which the Mamelani Team will be working closely with these centres to help them in designing a transitional support programme that equips youth leaving their care at 18 to prepare for the outside world.
The process was both exciting and significant for Mamelani’s Youth Development team as it was the first of its kind for Mamelani. It turned out to be a great learning curve for the team. The workshop forms part of Mamelani’s partnership with the Department of Social Development (Children and Families) to strengthen systems within Child and Youth Care Centres to adequately prepare youth who have reached the age where they expected to leave state care and begin to fend for themselves.
The 3-day workshop was attended by over 30 child and youth care workers and social workers and was filled with fun experiential activities aimed at helping participants to see things from a different perspective. It also helped participants to explore what underpins their youth practice and why they work in the ways they work with young people. It was a strong learning process for all involved and the Mamelani Team would like to thank the participants for their willingness and enthusiasm, which will lay the ground for the work we need to do in the months to come!
