Second Change Project
The Second Chance project- an Erasmus+ Capacity Building one funded by European Commission is the joint efforts of four participating partners from Lithuania, Vietnam, Peru and South Africa. The project aims to help prevent young people from re-offending while improving youth work methods of crime prevention and re-integration. With country partners from different areas of the world: EU, Southern Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia, the project, at the same time, ensures rich geographic, linguistic, religious & cultural diversity.
From September 16-25, 2019 a seminar under the project was organized in Diepsloot township, Johannesburg, South Africa with participation of 20 youth workers and NGO workers from Vietnam, Lithuania, Peru and South Africa. During the seminar, participants had a chance to visit and work with some local NGOs who have been implementing community-based programs and of course, targeting to vulnerable young people at local sites. Through participatory activities with these organizations, it was found that these NGOs did a lot of wonderful activities to support vulnerable youth in local sites such as (i) approaching to vulnerable young people via peer education activities or public events with behaviour change communication campaigns; (ii) vocational trainings; (iii) connecting and introducing a suitable job for trainees; (iv) providing psychological, legal and social supports for these trainees; (v) caring for people living with disability. Especially, the participants had a great chance to visit a detention center in Johannesburg city, South Africa which is managing over two thousand male prisoners from different nationalities (European, Asia, African, and almost from Africa). An open dialogue was facilitated among seminar participants and staff of the detention center to discover who are prisoners, reasons to be sentenced, visiting and observing life of prisoners in theirs cells, library, playground, kitchen, caring and administrative procedure, etc.
More importantly, all participants spent time to develop a tool/proposal for community-based tours around Diepsloot township, Johannesburg city to make an bigger impact for local people. This will help tourists experience the local life, understand the challenges local people are facing, as well as contribute to making lives better. Here is the link for further information: https://www.facebook.com/diepconnecto/ and diepconnecto.org
As one side activity, participants had wonderful experience visiting Nelson Mandela’s house, local parks, streets and markets, festivals, meeting local people who are very friendly and always smiling when approached. Culture exchange events with memorable and enriching experience were also facilitated among team members as a way to get to know about each culture and country in a more vivid and interesting way.
In short, the project is really making second chance for everyone, of course, especially for vulnerable young people in each targeted countrt. Each one who participated in this project can contribute actively and effectively to the project with 3 Hs model (warm Heart, smart Head, and skilled Hands).