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A group of residents recently partnered with roleplayers to stage a life-skills event for girls in Despatch.
The Level Up Life Skills Event was held at the Despatch Preparatory School.
The event brought together 18 girls aged under 16 who participated in sessions on gender-based violence and safety, substance abuse, health, hygiene, peer education, career guidance and life skills among other things.
The event was hosted on July 2 by the Sinako Reading Club in partnership with Despatch Preparatory School, Nelson Mandela University, SA Police Service, the departments of social development and health and the LoveLife Centre.
Sinako Reading Club director Nandi Kolisile, 38, said the club located in her home in Winnie Mandela Township in Despatch had grown in strength and influence from its humble beginnings in 2022 with five books.
She said the event aimed to educate and empower teenage girls through interactions with experts on various topics.
“We had a speaker that covered the topic of teenage pregnancy who was a nurse from the clinic we go to in Despatch.
“We also had someone from social development that serves in our community as well as someone from NMU who helped the girls with what profession they would like to embark on and subject choice.
“It was a lovely event that did not feel like a presentation but allowed our children to engage and ask the questions that they cannot ask their parents,” Kolisile said.
She said she opted to focus on girls as they made up the majority of the 26-member reading club.
“In the area that we live in, we are mostly single parents, so when a girl gets pregnant, you find the parents of the boy child say he is not working.
“So you find that single mothers have to support pregnant teenagers as well as the grandchild, so when we have empowered girls they will make better choices,” Kolisile said.
She said she decided to start her nonprofit organisation to focus on helping children to read for enjoyment and understanding from ages 12-15 in a safe environment.
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