Freedom Park, the youth of Eldorado Park in Gauteng, and Delft Youth Group from Western Cape embark on a project that tackles social ills within communities
As part of the youth month celebrations and in support of the Presidential Initiative at Eldorado Park, Freedom Park and the Young people of Eldorado Park in Johannesburg and the Delft Generation Cadet from Western Cape will embark on a workshop on combating social ills affecting young people.
The Delft Generation Cadet (DGC) is an initiative established in 2011 by Warrant Officer Mickey Daniels, who is stationed at the Delft Police Station in Western Cape; to address the local youth challenges. This group is a school going youth from diverse backgrounds that are making a difference in their community by abstaining from drugs and alcohol which is rife in these communities. Freedom Park, Deft Police Community Forum and the Delft Generation Cadet agreed on an on-going partnership on future projects.
In June 2012 Freedom Park successfully hosted a Youth day event in the Delft area in the Western Cape. This event was partnered with the SAPS, Department of Education, Government Communications, Delft Community Forum and the Delft Generation Cadet. This project is one of many nation building programmes within the Western Cape focussing on youth in poverty and drug infested stricken suburbs.
This initiative has expanded to an additional youth programme in June 2013 where the DGC; age between 14 -18 from Delft attended a programme at Freedom Park with learners from Eldorado Park and Kliptown in Gauteng. The objective of this programme was to engage the youth in dialogues to discuss issues surrounding drugs and violence in their communities. It was clear from the onset that these youngsters would be future leaders. They were strong, confident well-spoken individuals with dreams of making a difference in their communities, schools, country and one day, the world. The learners were encouraged to take these interventions and initiatives to their communities and implement it at their schools.
In June 2014 the partnership expanded with Robben Island where both group of learners, Delft and Eldorado attended a programme at Robben Island. The institutions saw it fit to facilitate an intervention program that includes dialogues, round table discussions and education programs, among other strategies, in an effort to fulfil its stated mandate of social cohesion and nation and continent building.
In the spirit of Youth month, Freedom Park will on the 24 June 2015, host the same group of learners from Eldorado and Western Cape during the Youth Month to try and address the issues and challenges facing the youth in the democratic dispensation. The program is a continuation of the events that took place during Youth Month in 2013 and 2014.
On the 24 June 2015 40 DGC Learners from surrounding schools in Delft Western Cape, will embark on a trip to Pretoria to join the learners of Eldorado Park’, at the Old Apostolic Church in Eldorado Park where they will take part in a program, whose objective is for learners to arrest and overcome challenges that they face on a day to day basis at an early age such as the scourge of drugs, incidents include stabbings and killings at school, alleged satanic rituals, rape and violence and socio economic issues.
Freedom Park is a space that encourages a culture of debate so that together we resolve the pressing issues of our times. It is a space that promotes social cohesion and nation building as vehicles to a better society. It is fitting therefore, for the institution to facilitate an intervention program that includes dialogues, round table discussions and education programs, among other strategies, in an effort to fulfil its stated mandate of Unity, Nation Building and Social Cohesion.
ENDS
Details of the Event:
Date: 24 June 2015
Time: 13h00
Venue: Old Apostolic Church,191 Alabama Avenue
Cnr Missouri Avenue ,Extension 7, Eldorado Park.
Enquiries:
Naomi Madima
Public Relations
Freedom Park
012 336 4006/060 961 3851
Naomi@freedompark.co.za
