Urban regeneration, an after school project based on an environmental development and education model
Masikhule Sikhuselane - a human rights awareness programme for children and youth. To read about the impact of this project, please click here.
Neighbourhood Safety Centre OR After School Care Centre Support Project
Parent Empowerment (provided on community request only)
Children's Art for Children's Rights Programme (developed into an Entrepreneurship project for youth and Masikhule Sikhuselane, a human rights project)
Youth at Risk (currently expanded to a range of development programmes including Youth Substance Dependence Prevention and HIV/AIDS community awareness).
Click on the heading
to link to the urban regeneration page
- a human rights
awareness programme for children and youth
Owing to the
increasing levels of violence, crime and poverty, human rights education has
been identified as a priority as an effective means of combatting child and
youth victimisation and intervening in the poverty and deprivation
cycle.
The Masikhule
Sikhuselane project entails:
training after
school facilitators in the delivery of human rights workshops for children
and youth providing each after
school project with the materials and equipment needed to deliver the
workshops providing a series
of 10 workshops on key aspects of human rights to children and youth in
groups of 10-15 participants evaluating the
project impact by involving the local community in order to broaden
participation and reach providing following
up workshop series in order to supplement learning and development in human
rights. In 2005/6 over 5000
children and youth in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces participated in 3
series of human rights workshops. More than 40 after school faciltators improved
their delivery capacity in human rights, and a number of key impacts were
observed, notably reporting of child sexual and physical abuse. To read more
about these case studies, please click here. An interactive learning
and discussion forum for after school facilitators, parents and young people on
how HIV/AIDS is affecting themselves and their communities. Areas of focus
include perspectives on HIV/AIDS, the human rights of those infected by HIV/AIDS
and how to prevent transmission of the virus. Neighbourhood
Safety Centre (NSC) or After School Care Centres Support Project This project is critical
in developing and facilitating the sustainability of after school projects in
under-resourced communities.
The
project entails intensive training in key neighbourhood protection skills In 2005, 55 unemployed persons were trained in child protection and youth development and
25 NSCs or after school care centres were initiated and/or supported as part of the project. An additional
1,115 children in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces gained access to after
school services in their communities. In order to promote the
sustainability of each new NSC, the following activities are included in the
project:
 | The provision of
educational equipment including facilitator tools, sports equipment and
art material. |
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| Development of basic
policies and procedures. |
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| Venue renovations to promote
an environment conducive to care and development, for example, suitable
flooring, painting and installation of
security bars. |
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| Acquisition of furniture
and special equipment including a first aid kit, cleaning and
administrative items. |
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| Assistance with the
development
of the
centre constitution and preparation of applications for NPO and Places
of Care registration. |
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| Support in developing appropriate
development programmes for children and youth. |
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| Support in the use and application
of various educational materials and equipment. |
Youth Substance Dependence Prevention
A interactive small group format development programme aimed at engaging young people with the issue of substance abuse and dependence. Issues include the process of dependence, substance types, life impact, legal consequences and introspection.
HIV/AIDs Youth Educators Project
The after school project is an effective means of reaching youth and providing community education on a range of critical issues. The HIV/AIDS Youth Educators Project is aimed at providing an after school support resource for young people by young people with the specific specialisation of HIV/AIDS community education and awareness. With alarming increases in HIV/AIDS levels in particularly high poverty profile communities, prevention is an important intervention tool.
The first HIV/AIDS Youth Educators Project was initiated in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, in September 2004. In 2005, the project was expanded to Mitchell's Plain. In 2006, the youth educators will be delivering their first community HIV/AIDS workshops, and will also be assisted in initiating formal after school projects in their communities as a permanent resource for youth and community education.
Poverty + historical inequality + strained educational systems + high unemployment = harsh economic environment where povery will be reinforced rather than alleviated. The poor find it very difficult it keep up with the demands of the market economy and tend to remain marginalised on the fringes with the result that the disparity between rich and poor is widening.
The Youth IT project is aimed at helping young people to acquire basic IT skills in order to improve their job marketability within the current fast changing economic system. By helping young people to learn IT skills, they are better able to enter, remain and improve their position in the economy.
PASCaP's IT project is offered on a small group basis and includes support, employment readiness training and mentorship. It is open to any young person (schooling or unemployed) who lives in a community with a high poverty profile and who wishes to learn and improve his/her skills in IT. During 2006, the project aims to offer IT internships at companies as a means of offering experience-building opportunties for young people.
A parent and youth support micro-entrepreneurship development project facilitating skills training in the manufacture of household and body care products. Participants are supported in the development of their own micro-enterprises as a poverty alleviation initiative.
Parents are most often the key to the socialisation and development of children. Merely providing developmental services to children and youth would be skewed if a supportive programme for the development of parents is not available.
PASCaP therefore launched a pilot programme for parents in 2001. The pilot was initiated in Parkwood, the site of the first PASCaP after school pilot project in 1992. Thereafter the project was adapted to include skills training for parents in Langa in 2005. Currently, the project is being offered upon request to communities.
Aims of the project
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To improve the
capacity of parents in their relationships with their children based on a better
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Broaden awareness on children's rights, and child abuse detection and prevention. |
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Provide parents with a range of skills training opportunities in order to improve their economic capacity. |
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An enabling, participatory and supportive group environment for parents. |
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Parents were able to develop support networks with one another |
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Parents have pledged to keep their and other children safe. Many are now active in community structures detecting and reporting child abuse violations with their community |
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Parents developed an improved understanding of the different developmental stages of their children and received collective guidance on how specific issues could be managed. Many parents have reported that they understand their children better than before participation in the project. |
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Parents were guided in the positive management and resolution of conflict and effective ways of dealing with stress |
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Improving financial budgeting and promoting family health through information on nutrition enabled many parents to improve the position of their families. |
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The first round of parents have continued to meet and formed a support group drawing in many other community members, including elusive fathers. |
| Parents learnt skills in fabric painting and making small articles for sale. |
| Participation in the project encouraged parents to become involved in training and development activities in their communities. |
Children's Art for Children's Rights Programme
This project was initiated in 2002 in the following high poverty profile communities in Cape Town and the Boland: Mitchell’s Plain, Heideveld, Parkwood, Belhar, Gugulethu, New Crossroads, Khayelitsha, Paarl and Mbek
weni (in Wellington).The project aimed to develop the art skills of children and youth whilst also raising awareness on human rights issues. The project not only aimed to develop artists, but used art as a means of enabling young entrepreneurs and to provide children and youth with the invaluable experience of exploring their talent and using their talent in a positive manner to improve their lives and those of their communities.
In order to expose the work of the children, a number of activities have been implemented:
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Annual showcases which include stage performances. Parents, community members, donors and community organisations are invited. |
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Market days at which art and craft is sold to the public. |
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Exhibitions were also held, for example, at the Cape Town North Sea Jazz Festival. |
Since 2002, the project has developed and grown into 3 separate projects:
Masikhule Sikhuselane - a human rights education project for children and youth.
Child Protection and Children's Rights - an interactive learning programme focusing on the development of basic child protection skills and broadening understanding on children's rights and responsibilities.
Women and Youth Entrepreneurship - skills training in micro-enterprise development.
Given the high rates of poverty and crime involving youth, a development programme has been initiated in the high incidence areas of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha with the following objectives:
| to provide a motivational programme for youth focusing on the achievement of their socio-economic rights as South Africans |
| to facilitate skills development in music, drama, arts and craft, and basic business skills as a means of enhancing entrepreneurship |
| to empower youth to make informed life and positive life decisions |
| to empower and develop knowledge on relevant contemporary issues such as HIV/AIDS and relationships, gender, etc. |
High schools in the selected areas are invited to refer identified young persons to the programme. The long term objective is to facilitate the establishment of an organisation which is able to link with other youth centres and services to lobby for and provide support and development for youth by youth.
A number of youth support groups have been offered in Kewtown, Netreg and New Crossroads.
In order to improve services, this project has also been developed and/or integrated into separate activities:
Project Nonkqubela, a micro-enterprise project for unemployed women and youth
HIV/AIDS Youth Educators Project
HIV/AIDS Community Awareness
Youth Substance Dependence Prevention
Child Protection and Children's Rights
Child and Youth Support Project (also to combat substance abuse).