Wentworth School benefits from youth wellness programme
“It is hoped that most learners who participated in the programme would have left with a clear idea of the career and life path they would want to follow
THE South Durban Basin (SDB) in partnership with Blue Roof Life Space recently co-ordinated a life skills program entitled ‘Zinakekele’ which means taking care of yourself.
The programme aimed at raising awareness among grade 7 learners from Assegai Primary School in Wentworth around teenage pregnancy, drug and substance abuse and making informed career choices.
“Teenage pregnancy continues to receive increased attention because of the early age at which adolescents engage in sexual activity. The issue of learners engaging in drug and substance abuse is increasing since there are so many out of school, youth being left idle and many without an inspired life purpose. These social problems are becoming rampant in our society,” said Mpume Ntuli, manager SDB ABM.
“Our programme entails learning, going through a career guidance process facilitated by qualified and experienced career mentoring individuals to empower learners to make informed career choices and also to identify the key factors in career path identification such as interests, skills, goals and values and were assisted to explore their most suitable career option,” said Jennifer Higgs, Blue Roof Career Centre manager.
The learners also explored more about their health and were provided with information on wellness and healthy living. Through the Lalela Centre (Blue Roof) pupils were given a free art lesson and got the opportunity to draw and paint how they envision their future to sharpen their minds to be able to make informed decisions.
Learners also did the egg simulation exercise where they had to take care of the egg as if it was their baby. Although some learners dropped the eggs, most eggs survived throughout the day. Majority of learners agreed that it was challenging to take care of someone the rest of your life. One learner said, “I did not know how difficult it was to take care of a baby, until I had to take care of the egg all day.”
“It is hoped that most learners who participated in the programme would have left with a clear idea of the career and life path they would want to follow and our plan is to eventually roll out this programme to all schools in the SDB,” said Eurakha Singh, senior manager SDB ABM.
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