18 Nov 2015

The Monarch Youth Resource Centre is said to be doing well in its set-out mandate despite facing many challenges that include falling ceilings, un-availability of an office phone, and ink for their printers and Internet connection for research. 

This was revealed by one of the centre’s administrators and counselors, Mr Omphemetse Molefe in an interview recently.

Mr Molefe said the youth centre found at Ntshe Clinic premises in Phase 5 serves to provide the community with relevant, timely and current HIV/AIDS educational information, encourage behavioral change and uptake of national HIV/AIDS prevention and support programmes.

“Here at the centre we teach youth life skills and counsel them on different societal matters concerning them. 

Issues that we normally counsel on here include that of alcohol abuse, sessions with students who abscond from school and teenage pregnancy,” he said. 

He further said they were happy that the majority  of their customers are mainly the youth, saying that shows positively by young people because it shows they do not bottle things up when they have troubling issues. 

He said students from Selolwe CJSS are their main customers because of their proximity to the centre/

“Many of these students have come here many times seeking counseling in preparations for their exams. 

Sometimes they just come for reading in our mini library where we have educational books and pamphlets on the dangers of alcohol abuse, safe use of condoms, family planning and ways to beat suicidal thoughts, among others. 

The reading materials have been provided by the Ministry of Health through their Public Health Office,” he said. 

Mr Molefhe said to achieve their mandates, they have the Youth Office who finance the centre and the Phase 6 Village Development Committee (VDC) come-by their office at times to help them with other valuable strategies like how to spark public interest on the centre by mentioning the centre at public gatherings attended by different leaders such as councillors and the area Member of Parliament, Mr Ignatius Moswaane. 

He gave thanks to Shadows Theatre Group, whom he said have been able to reach the wider community in the surrounding areas and as a result the public is aware of the centre’s existence. 

Shadows Theatre Group assists market the youth centre through drama performances and word-of-mouth. He said at times they do school visits to guide and counsel students and the last school they visited this year was Ntshe Primary School.

“We receive visits by elderly people too seeking counseling but we normally refer them to Ntshe Clinic for professional counseling,” he said. Ends