On Saturday the 28th January Calm in Storm, facilitated a 5 hour goal-setting workshop to 17 teenagers from 4 different NGO’s.

The Western Cape Network for Peace and Development arranged for the 4 NGO’s; New World Foundation,  Amandla EduFootball, Beth Uriel, and Yabonga to send through 15 people to attend, but the response was so overwhelming that we ended up with 17 in attendance at the Beth Uriel premises in Salt River, Cape Town.

“I was thinking about dropping out of school, but after the workshop I thought again and decided to stay in school,” said 16 year old Simone. 

The workshop  introduces teenagers to the idea that setting and pursuing goals is likened to an adventurous train journey. There is a starting point, a destination and a journey involved which connects the two. By the way of games, discussions, practical exercises and meditations, the attendees explore who they are, what they want and the steps needed to get there.

The Western Cape Network for Peace and Development conducted a survey, post workshop and the feedback was overwhelming. Here are some of the responses to their questions.

What did you like the most about the youth workshop?
– “Activities, icebreakers”
– “It was inspirational, fun and outrageous”
– “Self-empowerment and the goal-setting”
– “It was motivating and relaxing at the same time”
– “It tells me about what we wanna achieve in life”
– “I have learnt more about the conscious and subconscious mind”
– “Where they made you believe that anyone can achieve their goals”                                                       – “I like the examples the facilitator made, they painted the picture more brighter and clear and I also met new faces and made contacts”                                                                                                             – “What I like the most about the youth workshop was that it has more educational exciting things and sources”                                                                                                                                                           – “It inspires me on being positive all the time and not to be negative about what I want to be in future”

What did you learn about yourself today?

– “I’m intelligent”
– “That I am worthy”
– “I learnt that I must believe in myself”
– “I learned what and how to reach my goal”
– “That I’m strong enough to make my dreams come true”
– “That I need to take action in order to achieve my goal”
– “I begin with myself to do the hard studying in school”
– “That I’m capable of doing whatever I want to achieve in life”
– “I learned that I mustn’t give up because I can achieve my goal”
– “I have learnt that I can reach my goal without a doubt, but being     positive with myself first”
– “I have learned that I need to be more specific with my goal(s) and focus on the outcome”
– “That what I want to be, I must go for, even if it takes many years, but I must always think positive”

Thank you to all who made this workshop happen!