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In the many discussions we have had around crime, it has become clear that the cycle of crime and violence begins at home and is perpetuated in young people’s lives through an unsupportive social structure. Youngsters in our country who commit crime generally lack trust, self-belief and a sense of belonging.
Through Change a Life, we are committed to helping change the lives of youngsters whose unfortunate family, school or community circumstances may lead them towards crime. So we are delighted to have started working with Carole Podetti Ngono and her Valued Citizens Initiative in launching I Choose to Change a Life, an inspirational turnaround programme that fosters leadership skills amongst youngsters in conflict with the law. |
| French-born Carole initially arrived in South Africa from France to help with our first Soccer World Cup bid. Falling in love with our country and deciding to commit to its future, she launched the Valued Citizens Initiative in 2001 to encourage young people to take responsibility for their civic rights, abide by the rule of law and take pride in their national identity. Eight years on, Valued Citizens Initiative has trained more than 3 500 educators and reached over 420 000 young South Africans from over 1 500 schools with their theme of responsible citizenship and leadership. The organisation has also worked with nearly 200 of the most violent schools in the country.
Last year Valued Citizens Initiative launched a diversion programme for youngsters in conflict with the law and began working with teenagers referred from the Johannesburg, Wynburg and Randburg Childrens’ Court – South Africa’s biggest Childrens’ Court. Through a series of HEAL and PRIDE workshops, 55 young offenders have been helped to develop a positive self image, rebuild relationships with their family and learn communication skills and emotional intelligence. Next month, with funding from the Change a Life Trust, 20 of these youngsters will take part in I Choose to Change a Life - a 6 month programme that will encourage them to become positive role models and champions against crime within their communities.
The 20 youngsters, aged between 12 and 21, have been hand selected for this programme based on their leadership qualities. For the next six months they will have the opportunity to learn formal leadership skills, engage with mentors and launch and manage their own anti-crime initiative within their school or local community. At Computershare we look forward to helping to mentor and expose these youngsters to positive role models in the business world. We are excited to be part of this initiative that is helping to transform a potentially vicious cycle of crime into a virtual circle of positive citizenship.
We are ever mindful of the fact that these Change a Life initiatives would not be possible without the enthusiastic support of our Change a Life Cycle participants and corporate sponsors and donors. We thank you for supporting us and we hope that you are as inspired as we are by the good work that is being done in the name of Change a Life. |