The Wits Health Hubb aims to empower youth by creating economic opportunities for them in the health sector and positioning these youth as advocates for their own health and the health of the communities they live in.

We have partnered with Kunokhanya Training Academy (KTA) in providing a 12-month Health Promotion Officer

(HPO NQF Level 3) learnership program for formerly NEET (Not in Employment, Education and Training) youth in Soweto, Johannesburg. While the young people are completing their qualification, they also receive a monthly stipend as part of the

work-component of their training. Additionally, while these young people are on the program, they partake in workplace readiness training to give them an added advantage to secure employment once their training is done.

We are proud of the work that we have done so far, making changes in the lives of the young people on our programme, their families, and the communities they live and work in. 

A few exciting activities took place within the month of June, that we would like to share with our readers. We had our Substance Abuse and mental health awareness campaign as well as our first cohort of qualified Health Promotion Officers graduate. 

To celebrate and support youth as part of National Youth Day, Wits Health Hubb hosted a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Awareness campaign at Jabulani Safe-Hub on the 24^th of June 2022. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about the dangers and effects of substance abuse and to connect victims and affected family members and friends that need help to organisations or institutions that can assist them. We had 101 youth and their parents attend. 

We collaborated with the South African Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) and South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) who raised awareness and provided education on substance abuse and its devastating effects on mental and physical health. Discussions around the impact of substance abuse on social factors such as community and family life were also discussed, and attendees were very well engaged. These stakeholders were also able to provide attendees with relevant information relating to rehabilitation and an array of services they provide such as counselling services.

Guest speakers, Thato Mbha famously known as TT Mbha and Mrs Claudine Mofokeng were also invited to give a motivational speech to youth and their parents who attended the event.

Shoprite Soup Kitchen staff served warm, nutritional soup and bread to over 300 people on the day.

We would like to give a big thanks to our collaborating partners and attendees for making this campaign a success, we could not have done this without you!

FIRST COHORT GRADUATION 

Another exciting event was the graduation ceremony, we held on the 24^th of June 2022 for our first cohort of graduates. The group sat for their final examination in October 2021 and obtained a 100% pass rate. They are now qualified Health Promotion Officers. Furthermore, the Wits Health Hubb managed to get 75% of this cohort in employment. We are so happy to see the impact of the programme on our graduates, even after their training and we wish them the best of success for all their future endeavours. 

Following this group is our second cohort, which consists of 24 health advocates who are currently in training and will complete their Health Promotion Officer (HPO) NQF level 3 qualification in September 2022. This group is thriving academically, and we are excited to see what the future holds for them. Recruitment for the third cohort will start within the next month and interested candidates can get more information about how to apply on our website www.witshealthhubb.org and our social media pages Twitter: @WitsHHubb  •   Facebook: @Wits Health Hubb  •  Instagram: @witshealthhubb. 

Thank you to our all readers for your interest and support of the programme. We hope we are making you proud!