Support 500 vulnerable South African children

With societal challenges such as gender-based violence continuing to plague the Alexandra Township community, a grassroots approach to interventions is necessary to deal not just with the symptoms of these issues, but with the root cause.

As such, Rays of Hope, with the support of our GloblaGiving donors, is proud to announce the launch of a dedicated anger management programme specifically geared towards helping Alex youth (young men to begin with) to better deal with and navigate their emotions and issues to prevent these from manifesting into toxic behaviour within their communities.

“The relationship with my dad was very rocky. We lived in the same house but it got to the point where we never spoke, just greeted in passing. Even at my age (17), he never taught me things or tried to share any life lessons with me. It made me angry,” says Similo*, a learner living in Alex who is taking part in the programme.

After taking the very brave first step of approaching his teachers at school for help, Similo was introduced to Rays of Hope’s Jacob Tema and the anger management programme, aptly named Majita Asiringeni (meaning “Boys, Let’s Talk”).

 “You can feel that there’s something inside of you that makes you think, ‘no, this is not who I am’. With me it became a thing that I might become suicidal, so I knew I needed help,” says Similo. “I don’t think I would be here now if it wasn’t for Mr Jacob. And now I feel free. I feel spiritually free.”

Thank you for helping make programmes like this possible to change the lives of young people in Alex. We aim to #CatchThemYoung and give them a better future.

*Name changed to protect his identity