A group of teen meisies from Athlone have completed a personal development and woman empowerment course hosted by Athlone Saps as part of their community outreach programmes.
After six weeks of hard work the girls from Ned Doman High School were treated to a lunch and ceremony along with their mothers in Athlone on Saturday.
Sergeant Zita Norman explains the girls aged between 15 and 18 attended a six-week course as part of the Shine Project.
“Shine is a personal development and women empowerment course designed to teach women and young girls about their worth, strength and purpose, to make them aware of their value and that it is not determined by exterior elements but it is intrinsic and determined by the Creator.
“The need for the project to reach out to teen girls in the precinct stems from the junior station commissioner project run by Saps to help bridge the gap between the youth and police.”
She explains with various social ills impacting the lives of teen girls the project is aimed at showing youngsters alternatives to crime.
The project which is run in partnership with ward councillor Rashied Adams and under the guidance of station commander Colonel Junaid Alcock.
Norman says due to the success with the pilot project the team are hard at work planning to roll it out at other high schools within the precinct.
“We will be rolling out the project to include more schools in the new year at local schools in Athlone. The project will be called The Strength Programme and will also see the introduction of a course for male teens.”
monique.duval@inl.co.za