This past weekend, girls and boys from four high schools attended the City of Cape Town’s Metro Police leadership camps.
The learners were from Windermere, Bonteheuwel, ID Mkhize and Rylands Senior Secondary Schools.
The day camps provide the young people with an opportunity for team-building and making friends, while honing their leadership skills, ability to adapt, resilience and group work.
They were also given an opportunity to learn more about how to make their schools safer.
At the end of a series of day camps, 480 leaners from different schools, as selected by the Western Cape Education Department will have participated in the initiative, with 40 of them selected to participate in the Cape Town Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Cadet Programme.
‘The programme builds resilience in our young people who participate and at the same time, it encourages critical thinking and makes them more responsible and responsive members of their communities.
‘The programme also aims to help them become active community leaders by instilling social responsibility. I have to commend our officers who run the camps and ensure hundreds of learners annually have an opportunity to showcase their leadership skills and possibly even discover hidden talents,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.