Our Youth Development Program that prepares former street youth, who have grown up in children's homes for the transition out of state care, has been able to spread its wings over the last few months.
Over the last 18 months, Mamelani has replicated its Youth Leaving Care Programme that it has run for children from the Homestead, with young people who have grown up in foster care on behalf of the Department of Social Development. We recently completed the Pilot Programme and were invited to share our findings with the Department. It was exciting to share the lessons learnt and make recommendations for the components necessary for successful Independent Living Programmes for young people transitioning out of care. The outcomes of the pilot were well received and we are looking forward to developing this area of work in partnership with the Department.
Sadly, one of the young people who we had been working with over a year, and whom we had grown to love and respect, passed away from a sudden illness in September. We miss her too terribly –Alizwa's bubbly personality and inspiration lives on in the group and the programme.
In July Gerald Jacobs, our programme manager attended the NACCW conference. He was invited to present the programme for preparing and supporting young people leaving care to over 800 child care workers from all over the country. The response was overwhelming and we are hoping to develop stronger relationships with the NACCW to share our knowledge and experience with childcare workers in moving forward. To read the article published in the NACCW journal on click here
The Project Lungisela team has grown over this last quarter to offer increased capacity in this growing programme. We would like to introduce you all to Lerato Kossie and Leroy de Klerk who have joined the team as youth facilitators. We would also like to welcome Maria Anusha, a social work student from Denmark who has joined us for her 4-month practical placement. We are so excited to have this extra capacity and to have such dynamic people as part of our team!
There has been a move over the last few months to make the Lifeskills component of the programme more experiential, so that the participants are able to apply the skills they are learning to real life situations. This has included participating in photography, film and media and drama groups as well as literacy classes.
Youth from Project Lungisela and foster care youth participated in photography programmes over this period. The foster care group worked with a Greatmore Studio visiting artist, Rachel Granofsky in developing photographic collages around the theme of self-awareness and a sense of belonging. The images were exhibited at Greatmore studios as part of the student show, and the youth were excited to see their work hanging on the walls for all to see.
The other group has worked with the iwasshot Foundation in developing photographic skills over the last 6 months. In September, their work was exhibited at the Grand. The opening night was well attended and the youth were able to share with those present what they had gained from the process. Click here to hear see what news24 had to say about the exhibition.
Mamelani also partnered with Project Phakama in training participants as facilitators to work with other young people from different Children's Homes to develop a drama performance around the theme of "Journeying To". The performance took place as part of The Inside Out Festival and told the story of the obstacles young people need to overcome along their journey.
We have also partnered with the JAG Foundation to train participants in Film and Media skills. They have started the process and have begun to learn about how to capture stories on film. We hope that they will soon be able to share their stories with us as this programme develops.
The young people who are due to leave the Homestead at the end of this year went on a Rites of Passage camp last month to prepare them for the transition out of the Children's Home. The camp was an opportunity to build closer ties between the group and prepare the young men emotionally for the changes they are about to experience.
In August, two youth from Mamelani were flown to Paris France with the Homeless World Cup Team. Tsotang played his heart out on the field, and Lukhanyo was there as assistant coach, having represented SA as captain in Brazil in 2010. We are so proud of them both!
