®

BY YOUTH. FOR YOUTH Transforming Communities.

GOLD Peer Education Development Agency (NPC)

Company Registration Number: 2005/042756/08 NPO-040-433 PBO-930017833 (RSA)International Head Office Address:

22 Station Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town, RSA

“I joined the programme because I wanted to be a role model in my community, a good leader who lead by example. Someone who would teach others about life and its obstacles, change the way people think and behave. This programme has helped me a lot because now I can say am a change maker, I understand life better than before. I can help people who are in need, I can even give advice to my peers.” Sjabulile Magagula - Grade 11, Mentor Peer Educator

[SUCCESS STORIES]

‘I was a girl who was disrespectful… I was a girl who used to steal people’s property… I was a girl who was selling drugs in my school… I was a girl who was influencing other girls to smoke. After I joined GOLD I went to friends of mine and advised them to stop smoking. I became a Peer Educator. I stopped stealing and stopped lying to my parents. GOLD impacted me in many ways, bringing that shine to my life. It brings that brightness on me. Wow! The self-esteem I am having, the love, the sharing that I have – that’s what I value most about myself.’ – Numboso, 17 years

OUR CONTEXTSouthern Africa continues to face significant challenges in health, education, leadership and economic and social development. Youth make up approximately 41% of the population and the majority grow up in challenged communities, lacking positive role models and parental support. The youth unemployment crisis is made worse by the fact that many school leavers are simply ‘unemployable’ and lack the character and skills required to succeed in the workplace. Africa is full of extraordinary opportunities that depend on how we respond and invest in young people now. Our youth is our greatest resource. Harnessing this raw power is not a quick process but the reward in the end is phenomenal.

OUR RESPONSEThe GOLD dream is to grow young African leaders with character and integrity to mobilise their generation with the tools and support to complete their education and go on to reach their full potential, despite obstacles such as poverty, apathy, inadequate education, unemployment, orphanhood and HIV.GOLD is playing a pivotal role in building human and social capital in communities in South Africa (Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng), Zambia and Botswana with groundwork commencing into Zimbabwe and Mozambique. GOLD is supporting education in difficult circumstances, and developing a generation of young emerging leaders. These leaders are equipped with tangible skills and character attributes to contribute towards positive changes in their schools and communities through implementation of a tried and tested youth ‘character development, behaviour change and leadership’ model using the methodology of GOLD peer education. This is implemented through 1) a long-term and intensive quality assured GOLD Model implemented directly by GOLD in strategic communities 2) social franchising of the GOLD Model with schools, community-based organisations and churches and 3) a DIY Peer2Peer product provided at a fee to support systemic scale based on learnings from GOLD’s approach.

WHAT IS THE GOLD PEER EDUCATION MODEL?The GOLD Model harnesses the influence that young people have on their peers (people who are equal to them in such respects as age, education or social class). At the heart of the GOLD methodology is the belief that the message giver is the strongest message. Youth encourage each other to make informed choices and develop health-enhancing and purpose-driven social norms. In order to create change in the peer group, personal change needs to be ignited. As such, adolescent Peer Educators from hard-hit communities, who demonstrate leadership potential, are selected from among their communities and peer groups to enter the GOLD programme. They are then equipped, mentored and supported by skilled young adult youth Facilitator Interns over a three-year period. Personal change they experience has a ripple effect in influencing their peers, younger children and their communities at large. “Our selection process is well tested and includes volunteering and nomination with an interview process,” explains Susannah Farr, GOLD’s CEO. Farr says GOLD’s vision of empowering youth peer leaders to become positive role models and agents of community change is bigger than any one person and the influence is wide and long lasting. “One of our past Peer Educators from our pilot project in 2001 came back to GOLD ten years after ‘graduating’ and wanted to help financially, saying, “I am what I am because of what I got.’”

10 Years: Track Record 10 600 past Peer Educators430 past Facilitator Interns

Current Direct Beneficiaries (South Africa and Zambia) 1895 Peer Educators1895 Parents and Guardians145 Community Leaders58 Youth Facilitator Interns5685 peers

‘I come from a small shack area. In this community there are many gangsters. I also decided to join a gang. Gangsters rob and steal. They even rob our fathers and mothers.My life changed after I joined the GOLD Peer Education programme… I realised that what I did was wrong, that these bad things will make me lose good opportunities in life. I now respect my parents and teachers and attend school. I was even nominated to attend Saturday classes. I left the bad things I used to do. Now I think about my future. I would like to concentrate on my studies. I will get educated and then have enough money to buy myself a house in a good area where my family and I will live. To all young people – focus on your studies. Gangsterism does not pay, it will only lead to death.’ – Sanele, 17 years

The GOLD Peer Education Model, using a well-researched curriculum and supporting resources, has been tested and refined over ten years. It is grounded in evidence and best practices from the peer education field. Peer Educators attend weekly skills training and mentoring sessions, run by the Facilitator Interns, equipping them to perform the four roles of a GOLD Peer Educator:1. Role model health-enhancing behaviour.2. Educate their peers and younger children in a structured way.3. Recognise peers in need of help and refer them to relevant community resources for assistance.4. Uplift their communities through advocacy and volunteerism.They thus gain valuable skills as well as practical work experience, while uplifting their communities, ultimately leading to an increase in their employability and to a stronger community. GOLD’s future forward initiative connects GOLD Grads (alumni) to future opportunities in further education, workplace internships, access to entry level jobs and entrepreneurship support.

OUR IMPACTResearch to date shows evidence that GOLD peer education significantly contributes to:• Increased life skills• Improved academic performance• Increased healthy relationships among

the youth• Increased HIV and AIDS knowledge• Improved access to community services

that support youth• Increased community upliftment activities

driven by youth• Decreased gender violence amongst youth• Increase in the number of youth taking up

leadership positions• Decreased behavioural or discipline

problems at school• Decreased teen pregnancy• Decreased substance abuse• Improved attendance at school• Increased employability and work

readiness

OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES1. Building human and social capital for sustainable community development in Southern Africa.2. Mitigating the negative impact of inadequate education and HIV and AIDS

RETURN ON INVESTMENTThe ultimate sustainability of GOLD programmes will be measured by the long term social and economic contribution of the thousands of youth who have passed through our programme, aiming at:• Increased quality of education and youth skills development.• Increased employability of youth with leadership and job readiness skills.• Increased positive character attributes• Reduction of youth risk behaviour and HIV.

PARTNERING WITH GOLDGOLD is actively looking to form strong partnerships with local businesses and individuals on a number of levels in specific schools, communities and provinces. GOLD is intentional in aligning its efforts to national priorities and working to enhance and serve government focus areas in a way that brings the strengths of NGO, government and business together for greater measurable long-term change.GOLD has a sister for-profit start up social enterprise (GOLD Consulting) in RSA which leverages the commercial value and good practices of the GOLD Model for a wider market as well as offering value through an emerging market engagement and distribution network. Funders in RSA can claim the full benefit of contributions on their B-BBEE scorecards (SED and ED). RSA: section 18A status.Contact GOLD CEO Susannah Farr:E: susannah@goldpe.org.za, T: +27 (0)21 685 5038M: +27 (0)82 805 9391Zambia and Botswana entity details available on request

on youth, orphans and vulnerable children, families and communities.3. Reducing risk behaviour and the number of new HIV infections in youth by developing social norms that encourage them to protect their health and their futures.

We are confident that our youth will continue to influence every sector of society. We believe that the return on investment will continue for generations to come.

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