Programme provides stepping stones for teen girls
In an effort to help guide the girl child along the right path, members from the Stepping Stones engaged with a group of Grade 11 Mowat Park High School learners in a six-week programme.
YOUNG girls and women face a host of challenges and societal pressures on a daily basis. In an effort to help guide the girl child along the right path, members from the Stepping Stones programme engaged with a group of Grade 11 Mowat Park High School learners. The girls were awarded certificates for their participation in the programme at a graduation ceremony at the school on Friday, 25 October.
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The programme, which is a series of workshops designed to help promote sexual health, improve psychological well-being and prevent HIV, forms part of Community Media Trust’s community outreach initiatives. Facilitated by youth development enthusiast, Khulani Chiliza the six week programme was also aimed at educating the girls on various social issues that impact them including having a strong voice as a young woman, sex education, abuse, teen pregnancy, peer pressure, unhealthy self-esteem as well as how they can play a part in curbing these issues.
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“We understand that these girls are vulnerable and we wanted to give them a sense of direction and a sense of confidence in who they are. This way they will better understand their goals and purpose in life. We also saw that it was critical for them to understand and support one another in the issues that they face as young girls. Towards the end of the programme we also realised that talking alone was not enough, and therefore we infused an element of art as a mean to allow the girls to express themselves and all that they have learnt in a colourful mural at the school. The writing is literally on the wall now for every young girl who walks down these hallways to see. Essentially, we want these young girls to understand who they are and what they have to offer in life, school, society and South Africa as a whole. The programme has reaped results that exceeded my expectations. If you were to go to the dictionary and look up the word happiness, you would probably see my face there,” said a proud Khulani.
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