COTTONERA COMMUNITY SERVICES
Mentoring Sessions
The Cottonera Community Service offers individual sessions to adolescents
between 11 and 14 years of age during which they can undertake various
activities as a means of informal learning. Sessions are tailor-made to suit
the needs of the individual and thus activities vary from crafts and drawing to
woodwork, bicycle repairs and others, depending on the needs identified between
the community worker and the adolescent him/herself. These give the adolescents
a space to express themselves. Through these activities, the adolescents are
provided a safe environment for them to develop their social skills with the
help of community worker who acts as a role model and a guide to them. The
community worker is also be a point of reference when needed.
Proġett Tagħlim
Proġett Tagħlim is a joint project between the Foundation for Educational
Services (FES) and Aġenzija Appoġġ. It is targeted at children who attend Senglea Primary School and aims at offering them
a space where they can do their homework at school after school hours.
This service is offered to a group of 10 children attending Year 3. While the
academic input is provided by the tutor (FES), the community worker provides
sessions that are aimed to strengthen the children’s social and personal skills.
Themes related to social skills include teamwork, self-esteem, respect and
self-confidence.
Colours
of Life
Cottonera Community Service together with
Aġenzija Sedqa’s Prevention Services organise, the group Colours of Life which is aimed for
adolescents between 14 and 16 years. Priority is given to youth who come from
a difficult family situation or exhibit behavioural difficulties.
The aim of the project is to offer young persons
with the chance to express their creativity and feelings and also to integrate
them better in their own community. It offers informal formative education, to
teach them how to be independent and challenge their environment. With the help
of initiatives undertaken in this project participants have the opportunity to
develop their skills and abilities. Young people also have the possibility to
observe, learn and practice various social skills through activities such as
drama, sports and art. The group also provides information regarding different
situations and matters that participants could encounter as adolescents, both
in the present and for the near future.
Group 11 – 13
The group 11-13 is based on the idea
Colours of Life which had initially
targeted the pre-teens. Having gone on to adolescent years, the group decided
to continue to meet. The success of
Colours of Life encouraged the team to start a new pre-teen group for young
people aged 11-13. The aim of the project, just as that of
Colours of Life, is to offer space for the young persons to express their
creativity and feelings, to offer informal formative education, to teach them
how to think for themselves and challenge their environment. Moreover, it aims to
integrate the children more in the community. This will be done by offering
them healthy activities such as; drama, sports, art and different informal and
non-formal activities.
Qawsalla
The group Qawsalla consists of women over 30 years
of age. The aim is to support them in enhancing their support network,
their potential and skills and pass them on to one another.
Sessions are delivered by professional speakers
and focus on topics of interest identified by the women themselves. Women are
also encouraged and supported in delivering sessions themselves on areas of
knowledge, as a means of passing on their skills to other group members.
Proġett Familja
This project is targeting lone mothers with dependant children who might
be in poverty or are at risk of poverty. The age group of the participants is
between 18 and 30 years old and are residing in Cospicua. The project aims to
equip lone mothers with the necessary skills to run a household as well as make
them more employable.
The outcomes of Proġett Familja include decreasing the poverty level of
young lone mothers and minimise the risk of young lone mothers to fall under
the poverty line, whilst empowering the mothers to find employment and/or
further their education and increase their self-esteem.