Close to 100 participants received certificates on Friday October 12 after finishing a four-day course on social issues, with the Community Media Trust (CMT) in Khayelitsha.
The young people were happy to have successfully completed the awareness sessions which focused on social issues like teenage, pregnancy, peer pressure, gender -based violence, condom use and circumcision contraception . They celebrated the day in front of friends and family members.
Youth ambassador, Lorna Tshukuse, said they had targeted 100 young people and praised the participants for their willingness to learn. “We had five joint groups at Ward 91 facilitating awareness sessions on the issues.
“We also had men-to-men sessions. Our youth ambassadors facilitated these groups together with health educators.
“As you can see, the programme was successful and productive,” she said.She urged the youngsters to keep their health in check and to have themselves screened for tuberculosis and other diseases. To promote the campaign which encourages the youth to know their status, the organisers use the word “cava”, which youngsters use for “know”.
“We call this project Cava, zazi in isiXhosa. Together with TB/HIV Care we have five Cavas that we instil on the Youth like #CavaYourStatus, #CavaYourPartner, #CavaYourOptions, #CaveYourLifestyle, and #CavaYourSelf. Remember this is their language.
“We want to speak to them on their level,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries of the programme, Mabutle Molefe, believes there should be more such sessions for young people.
She said in the four days she attended the sessions, her confidence and self-esteem had been restored.
“I am speechless (about) the experience I got from the programme. Before this I would have never spoken to you.
“I was such a shy person but I am now outspoken.
“They taught me to be myself and listen to my instinct. I know a lot including how a lady should behave. “This is long overdue. For young people of Khayelitsha, this should have happened years ago,” she said.