Opening of a youth centre in Mapholaneng

The activities revolve around peer educators who support and advise other young people. A dedicated coordinator supervises this network, is in regular contact with the adolescents and holds monthly meetings.

Building on the success of the existing youth centre, SolidarMed and the Ministry of Health decided to build an additional one with financial support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. This is because the construction of the PoliHali dam in the same district – a building project to improve water supply in South Africa – has had a significant impact on local youth. Particularly girls and young women living close to the dam are affected on multiple fronts: poverty forces them to drop out of school and marry before they reach high school, and some sell sex to the construction workers out of necessity. This may lead to teenage pregnancies and HIV. The additional youth centre is being built in the immediate vicinity of the dam and will therefore reach more than 1,000 adolescents. The centre coordinator and peer educators have already been selected and the centre inaugurated. It will be another comprehensive platform in the Mokhotlong district that will empower and educate young people and provide them with healthcare services.