Guiding young girls of Kagiso in the right direction

The journey of a young person going from being a big fish in a small pond to being a small fish in the ocean can be very overwhelming. They have to take their first footsteps towards adulthood and recognise who they strive to be as an individual.

Young people need guidance and for the girl learners of WD Oliphant Primary School in Kagiso, plenty of them were given the space to learn in a programme organised by community organisation Ma Medi Antswembu along with Choma.

Ma Medi Antswembu is a community organisation based in Kagiso that is always taking part in community outreach programmes that help the youth and vulnerable people of Kagiso. The organisation did their first collaboration with NGO Choma, which empowers individuals, community workers and organisations by developing their capacity and resilience to effectively address socio-economic and health issues in the context of HIV and Aids.

The ultimate vision is thus to create an HIV-free generation. Choma also has a magazine platform, one that young people can trust and relate to while receiving credible information and advice on a variety of topics such as HIV prevention, gender-based violence, health, love and relationships, sex and pregnancy, lifestyle, fashion and beauty, entertainment and more.

The purpose of the initiative was to help the girls in grade seven understand the challenges of the journey of growing and discovering themselves.

According chairperson of Ma Medi Antswembu Kagiso Mokua, the programme hopes to provide advice to young girls about the obstacles they face as well as motivate them to be the best versions of themselves as they prepare for high school.

“We want to motivate grade seven learners on how to carry themselves. Going to high school is a big step considering that they have been a child for a long time. It can be quite difficult for children to make that transition and we want to educate them to never be consumed by the pressures of fitting in,” Mokua said.

Ma Medu Antswembu also donated over 100 sanitary products to young girls at the school as a token to help young girls who cannot afford the products.

According to Zoleka Khoza who is the digital media moderator for Choma, another part of the programme was to also instill values in young girls.

“At Choma, we believe in collective community values. It takes a village to raise and guide a child hence we encourage them to also help each other. We support transformative, locally-led change by partnering with community-based organisations that support young people, their sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender-based violence prevention,” Khoza said.

Khoza also expressed the collaboration that Choma had with Ma Medi Antswembu on how important it is for NGOs to work together when reaching out to the community.

“We seek relationships with organisations across sectors private, public, and non-profit to leverage our strength in numbers and mobilize more resources to support local solutions,” Khoza added.