Empowering youth through education

If you ever watched Soul Buddies on SABC1 you’d be familiar with the numerous loveLife advertisements that ran during the show and what the organisation does for the youth. But many years after the cancellation of the show, loveLife is still going strong and here’s why.

The organisation works as a mobilisation vehicle for conveying messages about HIV/Aids, sexuality and prevention of the consequences associated with an active sex life, among other educational messages. They also assist the youth in getting involved with sports, train coaches, and train staff in clinics around the province and educate them, too.

“One of the things we’re doing is to enable healthcare professionals to change their attitude towards youth with regards to access to health services,” said Lebo Maroo, deputy CEO of loveLife.

The organisation wants staff at clinics across the country to be more mindful and supportive of the young people who need help with contraception and family planning.

They also run a sport and recreational programme where they train people to become sports coaches, thus enabling them to pursue careers in the field at a later stage.

In addition, the organisation has a groundBREAKERs programme. This programme trains matriculants to engage with their peers and people younger than themselves in order empower the youth through thentransmissio of knowledge.

“The matriculants we take into the project leave the project at the end of it so much more confident. Some of them even go back to school to improve their final marks for their futures,” she said.

“In some communities, it’s hard for parents to talk to children about serious, prevalent issues and that’s where we come in to help them and engage in talks with the youth.”

The longstanding organisation has its headquarters in Sandton and Y-centres (Youth-centres) across the country, including one in Braamfontein.

Find your nearest Gauteng Y-centre on iloveLife.mobi and empower yourself.

Details: 0800 121 900; iloveLife.mobi