Youth Ambassador Progam
The Youth Ambassador Program
In co-operation with our partner Heartbeat in South Africa and the government of Baden-Württemberg (Germany), we are going to launch the Youth Ambassador Program in 2009. It empowers young South Africans to articulate their interests and tackle the problems of their generation. Youth ambassadors, supported and educated by GoAhead! and the state foundation, shall alert their communities and schools to the grievances of every-day life and become speakers for the often neglected orphans. Furthermore, they will be integrated into Heartbeat's work and will help to adjust their programs to the needs of the supported children. At the end of the year, one of the 12 ambassadors will be voted into the Heartbeat board.
Being a youth run organisation ourselves, we are particularly delighted to set up this program. It gives young South Africans a rare chance to actively participate and shape their society. It constitutes an opportunity for real co-operation between people of different cultures and social backgrounds, and to start an exchange of thoughts between young people from South Africa and Germany.
The YAP 2009
The basic common goal of GoAhead! and Heartbeat is to give children who lost all perspective to HIV / AIDS a new chance to start a meaningful life. In order to make the work with oprhans and vulnerable children (OVC) more effective, we wish to integrate young people into Heartbeat's work. This gives them a say in community matters and strengthens their position within society.
I. The Youth Ambassador
The YAP is an extension of Heartbeat's "Children's empowerment program". It is split into two areas; first, the five communities with Heartbeat centres (in the provinces Free State, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo and Gauteng) will choose two ambassadors. Heartbeat's decentralised approach demands engagement on a local level. The ambassadors will be in constant contact with the community's chidren and the local Heartbeat office.
Secondly, one of the local ambassadors shall be included in the work of the main office in Pretoria. He or she will articulate children's needs on the top level of the organisation's administrative body. This representation ensures the steady adjustment and improvement of the program.
II. Project plan
The YAP is a pilot project initially budgeted for one year. Together with Heartbeat, we will evaluate it's progress after this first year. Hopefully, Heartbeat will be able to continue the program by themselves. The project plan is structured in three phases:
1. Choosing suitable young people
2. Training and empowerment of the ambassadors
a. Choosing the „Heartbeat Youth Ambassador“
3. Running and growth phase
Phase 1: Choosing suitable young people
For the selection process, Heartbeat will ask high school students (15-18 years of age) to submit application essays in which they explain their motivation, interests and strenghts. These essays will be screened by local Heartbeat staff and community workers. The most crucial skills are the ability to represent in public and the courage to address sensitive issues.
The local approach has the great advantage of knowing the commities in question very well, including their young population. Heartbeat has been working with these children for years and visits those affected by HIV / AIDS regularly. Many of them attend the local Heartbeat centre daily.
Phase 2: Training and empowerment of the ambassadors
The ten chosen youths will be invited to a "Leadership Training Camp" where they will learn to ask the right questions, to lead others, to stand in for their interests and articulate their opinion accordingly. In the second part of the training phase, Heartbeat will organise further workshops on communication, public speaking and leadership skills.
a) Choosing the „Heartbeat Youth Ambassador“
Following the general training, the ambassadors will be invited to the main office. In a series of interviews, the most suitable of them will be chosen to be Heartbeat Youth Ambassador. He or she will, pending further training, be representing in the management board of the organisation.
Phase 3: Running and growth
The ambassadors start their actual job. In periodic meetings with local Heartbeat staff (at least once a month) and in constant contact with other social workers they get a chance to raise children's issues. At the same time they speak in schools and at other public occasions about the various challenges facing orphans. Regular meetings, discussion and social events will maintain the contact with the children, but most of the contact time will be of informal character.
If you have any questions regarding YAP, please do not hesitate to turn to Tilman Rodenhäuser (t.rodenhaeuser[at]goahead-rganisation.de) or Wolfgang Bildhauer (w.bildhauer[at]goahead-organisation.de).