Good Start to the New Year

The new school year has started with a few challenging and exciting detention sessions at Pretoria North High school. Cori developed some new material which challenges learners around confronting and solving problems in their lives. Ian Stuart, Ian Dewbury and Hannelie Buitendag have been helping with facilitating the small groups. The interaction in our small groups remains our strong point, with facilitators sharing stories of some very meaningful conversations with learners about everything from family problems to the meaning of life!

At the end of February we held a training workshop with all our facilitators where we were reminded again of what we’re all about: creating a space for significant life change in the lives of learners, through challenging their visions, minds and attitudes. This is no easy task, when dealing with learners from a diversity of backgrounds, who are often sitting on detention perhaps because of a lack of vision for their lives, or negative attitudes towards the school system and the world around them, or an unwillingness to take responsibility for the situations they find themselves in. But we have facilitators on our team with such a deep passion for young people, and with really caring hearts, and we have not yet met a learner who isn’t moved by the compassionate commitment of facilitators!

At the beginning of March we also had a board meeting, or what we’ve dubbed a ‘half-time’, to reflect on where we’ve come from and realign ourselves with where God would have us go. One thing that was identified in terms of this, is that our focus has been more around ‘soul-support’ – really challenging learners fundamental beliefs about themselves, others, the world around them and their futures, and bringing healing and emotional help - rather than teaching them specific skills, as we had planned to when first starting our program. This may change in the future, but for now, we all felt that our greatest impact in the lives of learners is through this ‘soul-support’.

A major challenge we continue to face is being creative in our disciplining. The entire detention session is, of course, a form of creative, alternative disciplining. But within the session, while running the program, incidences of unruly behaviour do sometimes arise, and we’ve made it our focus this year to develop our ideas and skills around creatively handling these situations. We hope to develop these ideas in such a way that they can also be helpful to teachers at the schools where we work. We’d love to hear your stories and thoughts, experiences and insights concerning alternatives to discipline. We’re also planning for an event –or a series of events - where ideas around ‘creative discipline’ can be workshopped. Let us know if you’re interested in being part of something like that.

In terms of prayer, we’re still waiting on a few schools who are discussing implementing our program with their governing bodies and the like. Please pray that the right schools will come on board at the right time. We’re also a little stretched in terms of facilitators and could really use a few more dedicated hands. Pray that people with a real heart for young people and a commitment to the vision of 121 will come on board. Lastly, we just want to thank God for his incredible financial provision, which has allowed us to employ a part-time administrator, and financially compensate others who are dedicating time and effort to 121.

We’re excited about what we’re doing. We’re excited about what God is doing with and through us. We want you to be in on this great thing! Join us in dialogue around how to really transform the vision, mind and attitude of young people in our country today so that they can become responsible contributors in the future!