Amcare introduces a new initiative to help young girls

Amcare helps empower teenage girls.

KEEP DREAMING: The girls, aged 13-18, will be armed with skills by Amcare mentors and counsellors during the sessions they will attend.

AMCARE, a community-based NPO, has introduced a new initiative called It’s a Girl Thing made up of 20 girls from the areas surrounding Alberton.
The programme aims to give support to girls who are affected by social factors. The girls, aged between 13 and 18, will attend a session once a week until they have completed a 12-week programme. This is a mentorship programme aimed at empowering young girls and is offered by skilled and trained counsellors from Amcare.
The programme includes girls from Tokoza, Alberton, Greenfield, Palmridge and Eden Park.
It’s a Girl Thing will coach young girls about the importance of HIV testing and ultimately groom them to go back into their communities to teach others about HIV/Aids, and also open lines of communication between themselves and their parents.

ITS A GIRL THING: Laurette Marais, frontrunner for Mrs Africa Class 2019, with the 20 girls who will attend the weekly session at Amcare.

This programme aims to give the 20 girls the opportunity to think positively about themselves and see and think about life differently.
According to Nadine Mason, Amcare marketing director, most teenage girls who live in disadvantaged settings battle with self-esteem and confidence and they often lose their sense of significance when they compare themselves to other girls.
There is more to life
They will be guided and mentored by Amcare people who have experienced a comparable situation as the girls.

“The mentors are also survivors of domestic violence and illness,” said Nadine. “What will be discussed with the girls will also be discussed with their parents in different sessions so we can guide the parents on how to be able to talk to their children.”

The counsellors range from age 25 to 35 and all of them are fully trained and equipped.
Beauty queen Laurette Marais, forerunner for Mrs Africa Class 2019, who is also part of the initiative, joined the girls at the first It’s a Girl Thing camp, which was aimed at creating connection and openness among the girls.

“They were shocked when they saw me in my natural state without any make-up, but I told them beauty does not really matter because you can succeed without it. I told them to never forget the importance of using their brainpower because you can use that to accomplish anything,” said Laurette.