A military-style skills development programme, the South African Youth Cadets is playing a crucial role in helping to keep young children off the streets and away from a life of crime and drug abuse. Discipline is one of the major values that is instilled in cadets.
Time management and a focus on concentration are also some of the learning areas. Learners between grades 1 and 12 can join and become cadets. And the SA Youth Cadets is recruiting new members to join their forces. The recruitment drive will be running throughout January.
The youngsters from various areas on the Cape Flats have come out to join the South African Youth Cadets. They are seeking an alternative to a life of crime and drug abuse. And the SA Youth Cadets offers them an opportunity to develop fundamental skills that can help improve their quality of life.
“We have over 90 modules that cover the 12 months, every Saturday, looking at cadet programmes from leadership management, effective listening skills, communication skills, survival skills. Then we look at drilling. drilling is the basis of discipline. I come from the military myself and the police and as a commissioned officer, I thought that there’s a major need in our programmes which we lack in schools, especially with soft skills,” says Founder: SA Youth Cadets Randall Petersen
The cadets meet weekly for training and to conduct drills. 16-year-old Reese Kelly, from Mitchells Plain has been part of the programme for the last seven years.
“Being here has made me realize that it is possible to have a better life outside this area and it is possible to change your whole mindset,”
14-year-old Ethan Bennet, from Bonteheuwel, has been with the programme for a year.
“It made me get rid of a lot of bad stuff and it made me improve my discipline. I’m more quiet now, I’m not that rough and I’m more educated.”
Parents say the programme has helped to improve the behavior of their children.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes in Ethan. He’s more respectable, he’s more upstanding. I can tell you his cupboard is packed better than my cupboard, so the discipline that he’s getting here is such a beautiful thing to see, because it helps him improve his academic work as well. I’ve seen his grades improve over the past year that he’s been here and he’s more confident,” says parent Anthea Bennett.
New recruit, the 18-year-old Nadene Clayton from Mitchells Plain says she will use the skills she gains at the SA Youth Cadets to pursue a career in the navy or army.
“Why I decided to join is to improve my skills and to empower myself to become better in life.”
The cadets will also be taken on various outdoor excursions, including hiking and trips to the beach where they can learn more life skills that will benefit them in the future.
