An important aspect of our goal and motto, “bringing lasting change to Alex”, is to ensure that our organisation’s interventions in the community not only meet the real needs of its people but are sustainable and address issues at their root.

It’s for this reason that we kicked off our schools intervention initiative, which are run by qualified social workers working with all 11 primary and seven high schools in the area to engage with young people on these issues with the goal of breaking toxic cycles once and for all. The issues being covered include toxic masculinity and gender-based violence, bullying, teenage pregnancy and motherhood among young girls at high school level in Alex.

In many ways, these challenges are interlinked, with children growing up in violent or abusive homes and internalising damaging ideas and stereotypes – often related to gender. For this reason, Rays of Hope has chosen to engage with children and young adults on all of these topics to provide clarity and dispel toxic misconceptions.

Parent workshops are also in the pipeline, with Rays of Hope’s stance being that change needs to happen at all levels of society and family for it to be successful and sustainable.

Workshops for school learners will take place for a week once a month. To support the already pregnant teenagers, they are being recruited into the Teen Moms’ Support group, which meets weekly on a Friday.

This incredible initiative is one we are immensely proud of, and that would not be possible without the support and generosity of our loyal Rays of Hope donors and partners. Please reach out to Tracey Peppler at tracey@raysofhope.co.za to find out how you can help us keep this project afloat for the sake of Alex youth.