Olympiakos Football Club launched the ‘Save the Noupoort Child’ initiative in an effort to empower the local youth to lead positive lives and to raise awareness about drug abuse, bullying and other social ills.
OLYMPIAKOS Football Club has launched the ‘Save the Noupoort Child’ initiative in an effort to empower the local youth to lead positive lives and to raise awareness about drug abuse, bullying and other social ills.
The programme further aims to instil discipline among the Noupoort youth and give them the opportunity to do positive things with their lives.
It targets learners in grades 5 to 12 from four local schools.
Funded by Noupoort Wind Farm, the programme is run in collaboration with the Department of Social Development and it was conceived after a rise in drug abuse was experienced among the Noupoort youth, which also saw a rise in the crime rate.
Other critical stakeholders include the NTSUMI Charity Organisation from Gauteng, the local SAPS, and the ward councillor.
The owner and founder of Olympiakos FC, Emlyn Lucas, said the programme has the potential to provide crucial interventions when it comes to social ills.
Lucas said the initiative is an ideal way to inform the youth about the dangers of drugs, bullying and other social ills in their communities.
“The programme consisted of ‘Movie Fridays’, followed by an intervention centred on lessons learned from the movie. In addition to this, anti-drug talk shows and dialogues aimed at highlighting mental wellness have been held, including live testimonies from youth in the rehab centre,” explained Lucas.
The Save the Noupoort Child ambassador from Eureka Intermediate School, Willie Pietersen, explained that the learners were exposed to real-life experiences and warned about how drug usage affects their town, families and society.
“With the intervention of our local social worker, Rosslyn Makoni, the girl children have also received much-needed attention,” said Pietersen.
