Through teaching young people skills and values such as tolerance, perseverance and resilience, Life Choices helps them to overcome their challenges and be the best they can be. (Image: Life Choices, via Facebook)
Inspired by the work of a Catholic priest in a small Italian town in the 1800s, the Life Choices organisation works to support youth in difficult circumstances overcome their challenges and provide them with skills, information and resilience for them to live to their fullest potential.
Learn about Life Choice’s history:
Through its approach, Life Choices tries to address the many factors that hold back some of South Africa’s youth, be these poor education, malnutrition, illness or simply not being aware of their own potential and the opportunities available to them.
LIFE CHOICES PROGRAMMES
The organisation runs three programmes in and around Cape Town, each aimed at areas it has identified as needing to be dealt with in order for young minds to thrive. These key programmes focus on personal health, how best to manage family affairs, and leadership development, which is aimed at helping youth take charge of their lives.
Its Health4Life programme is primarily aimed at children living without their parents. It works with schools and community centres to help ensure the mental, physical and social health of pupils and children out of school.
It provides relevant HIV and Aids counselling and testing to ensure children are informed, gender relevant talks about sexual health and wellness, as well as psychological support to those suffering from trauma of any sort.
The Family Affairs programme aims to improve well-being among families facing challenges that keep them from having healthy relationships. Again by providing counselling and guidance, Life Choices hopes to bring families closer together and develop support structures within families.
Lastly, it focuses on developing leadership and teamwork skills to prepare young people for life after school when competencies such as teamwork, time management and resilience are important for success.
Its Leaders’ Quest challenges bright pupils at the schools where it works to give leaders of the future the head start they need, while addressing the causes of bad leadership instead of looking to correct the symptoms.
Watch what matriculants had to say about Life Choices:
GET INVOLVED
An aim of Life Choices is to improve the lives of as many youths as it can, and it urges the public to get involved and help it help these youngsters reach for their dreams.
If you as an individual, group or business want to get involved, have a look at the get involved section of the Life Choices website for more details about how to do so.
The organisation is open to financial donations and also welcomes volunteers who want to spend time with it and the youths with which it works.
PLAY YOUR PART
Play Your Part urges you toshare your story. If you or anyone you know has gone out of their way to brighten up the day for someone else, we want to know.
If you have a story to tell, be it your own or that of an organisation or initiative dear to you,submit your story or videoto our website and tell us how South Africa is playing a part to build a better life for all.
