10 Nov 2011 PPA supports Youth Project in Khayelitsha
Members of the Youth Empowerment Project were delighted last week to receive bicycles and helmets from the Pedal Power Association. The “YEP clan” is a dynamic structure within the community of Khayelitsha striving to utilize different ways of encouraging participation for young people through various development programs.
The project was founded in 2007 by Sizwe Matoti, who was concerned about the lack of positive involvement around the youth in his community. “Many of the youth resort to involving themselves in gangs, drug and alcohol abuse and some even dropping out of school as a result,” he said.
“The project is aimed at resolving the social imbalances amongst the youth in our communities through offering them an alternative to gangsterism, drugs and ill social elements by equipping them with social skills to become active members of society” Sizwe went on to explain.
In 2008 Sizwe took up establishing a development cycling club (Yep Clan) as part of the project. The idea behind the project posed a powerful opportunity by increasing participation and involvement to build their confidence and break the cycle of poverty through empowerment and education. Sizwe believes that young people are the core solution to many of the problems that the people living in townships face.
Pedal Power has assisted the project over the past few years, and this year was no different. Bicycles and helmets were donated to the project to attempt to further grow the project and better the lives of the many youth living in poverty stricken townships.
Pedal Power has sponsored various cycling related projects to the value R1.8 million this year. For more information on the various projects PPA supports, please see the “Where does the money go” section of our website.
