Nicro Germiston recently took time to celebrate 11 pupils who had successfully completed the first year of their safety ambassador programme.
Business people, teachers, parents and other community representatives, as the programme works best with community support, attended the event.
The programme was born from the need to develop “safety ambassadors” at secondary school level.
These ambassadors are made up of selected young people who have been empowered with the prerequisite skills, knowledge, experience and motivation to serve as positive role models, who interact with and influence the youth in their respective communities, dissuading them from participating in anti-social behaviour and any form of crime.
The goal of Nicro’s safety ambassadors crime prevention initiative is to reduce the risk factors, while simultaneously strengthening protective factors or the resilience of at-risk youth, in order to reduce and prevent anti-social behaviour and victimisation, as well as any crime within the school environment and, ultimately, within the community.
The specific objectives of the schools-based safety ambassadors programme include:
q Empowering the programme participants to identify and deal with personal and social issues affecting the lives of young people.
q Fostering personal growth and expanding the knowledge base and skills of the safety ambassadors through effective life-skills coaching.
q Creating a platform to assist young people with career and life planning.
q Creating a platform for the youth to promote a range of activities and projects promoting pro-social values, healthy lifestyles and positive behaviour among their peers and within their community.
q Develop a sustainable schools-based support programme focusing on reducing the risk factors that young people face.
Schools interested in joining the Nicro programme can contact Job Mukarronda on 011 873-6976, or visit Nirco’s Germiston office at 175 Meyer Street.
