Adapt launches Girls and Boys Empowerment Movement in Alex schools
Adapt’s new initiative aims to tackle issues of gender-based violence and emotional abuse in Alex’s high schools through student-led interventions and support systems.
The Adapt NPO is taking significant strides in fostering positive change within Alexandra’s educational landscape through its newly launched Girls and Boys Empowerment Movement (GEMS and BEMS).
This project, implemented in collaboration with the Department of Education, engages students from Alexandra High School, East Bank High School, and KwaBhekilanga High School to address critical issues affecting their peers.
Read more: Sayza_ZA initiates Amagomora School Tour to empower Alex youth
Adapt monitoring and evaluation manager Sidwell Sehoana said the initiative encourages students to come together to identify and strategise solutions for problems they face at school.
“We’ve trained the group of girls and boys in positive behaviour intervention and support, as well as addressing gender-based violence and femicide.
“Our training sessions allowed learners to recognise and share their experiences with various forms of abuse occurring within their environment, ranging from emotional and physical abuse to sexual violence,” Sehoana said.
He added that the boys and girls participating in this programme were selected based on the regulations from the Department of Education.
Also read: Alex matriculates empowered with Matric Dance Dress Drive
The project sheds light on the necessity of addressing the gaps in school codes of conduct. “Upon reviewing the codes of conduct at these schools, we realised there was a significant gap in addressing the challenges identified by the learners themselves.
“This prompted us to collaborate with learners to create an addendum which outlines misconduct and lays out collective action strategies to tackle these challenges,” Sehoana said.
The GEMS and BEMS initiative is a one-year project that commenced in April 2024, with plans already in place to extend the programme into 2025 and beyond.
“The schools that we are working with currently were chosen based on the fact that we already provide psychosocial support in those settings, and the nature of the problems handled by the social workers provides proof that projects of this kind are required to address the prevalent problems in the designated schools,” Sehoana said.
He added that their organisation is now drafting proposals to accommodate other high schools.
“The Department of Education has expressed their desire for us to expand our services to other high schools outside of Alexandra,” he concluded.
Follow us on our Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok pages. Join our WhatsApp group for any story ideas you may have.
Related article: Coaching sessions empower coaches and inspire future talent
