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Religious groups join Western Cape government to help youth

Province allocates R1 million to help 7,000 youth in communities most affected by crime

Western Cape youth will benefit from a pilot partnership between the province’s community safety department and the religious community over the festive season, community safety MEC Dan Plato said.

“This partnership is a first of its kind, and will see 35 organisations across the Western Cape running youth development programmes for around 7,000 of our most vulnerable youth,” he said in a statement.

Plato said murders peaked in December and that most of victims were young.

The project would allow resources to be redirected to where they were most needed.

It had been allocated R1 million and would run through December until mid-January when the schools re-opened in the 10 Western Cape communities most affected by crime.

Programmes would be conducted by 35 religious organisations across the province.

“These programmes will focus on faith, fun, and sports, with a simultaneous focus on youth development,” said Plato.

A daily meal would be served to each participant.

“I believe that it is of the utmost importance to instil a good set of morals and values in our youth from an early age,” he said.

“Aside from the parents, I believe that the religious community is best positioned to do this.”

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