The Gem Project

The Gem Project offers inclusive and integrated child-&-youth centred programmes to vulnerable children and youth at risk who come from marginalized and challenged communities throughout the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole.

We find rough gems who are in dire need of care &support. We work with them in a participatory approach to assist in their self-development. We, therefore, aim to refine rough gems into precious gemstones with support and through the collective & collaborative efforts of the Gem multi-disciplined professional team and our strategic partners.

We provide our Gem beneficiaries with a range of support, including physiological (food, shelter, clothing), psycho-social, educational, sports, recreational, vocational and work readiness skills.

The Gem Project has been contributing to meaningful change and impact since 2010. From humble beginnings, it has over time evolved into a fully functional holistic child and youth-centred learning and development institution. 

Since its inception, it has contributed positively to empowering over 300 youth with adult education, vocational and lifeskills training. It has also through its community outreach programmes supported and assisted over 2400 children and youth at risk to date.

We work closely with the parents of our beneficiaries. No child lives in isolation, therefore the strengthening of the family unit and re-integration of children and youth are integral for development, growth and empowerment.

The Gem Project enhanced its youth empowerment model to include more practical vocational and work readiness training. These include a range of basic vocational skills training in basic woodwork, agriculture, cooking, baking, housekeeping, customer services, retail etcetera. We use practical approaches to expose them to the concepts of work. Through our job readiness and job shadowing programme, we increase their chances of employability once they exit the project. Practical vocational and employability skills are imperative in the development pathway of the unemployed youth as this equips them with skills and tools to become more employable.

School dropouts are even more limited in accessing meaningful job opportunities and therefore the Gem Project Youth Academy is focused on serving this category of youth who require a 2nd chance to obtain meaningful education and work readiness skills to access entry-level jobs.

For our Gem Juniors, we provide them with a safe environment and run a fully-fledged bridging school where we prepare them for formal mainstream schooling.

Our current projects include:

The Gem Youth Academy and Seniors Residence.

 The Youth Academy provides formal Adult Education and Training to school dropouts between the age of 16 to 23 with below-grade 9schooling with focus on functional literacy, numeracy, life orientation, work readiness and entrepreneurship. The GemSeniors residence provides for the living needs of the Gemyouth and operates a full boarding house where learners physiological needs are met.

-  The Gem Vocational Skills & Work-readiness development programme provides extensive support to learners who are of working age to prepare them for the world of work which

enables them to access entry-level jobs with partner employers. This includes practical, theory and experiential work readiness programmes to successfully transition learners to become responsible and productive citizens.

-  The Gem Juniors Bridging School and Junior Residence (PartialCare Facility) offers challenged learners aged 6 to 15 years of age who are placed in the Gem’s Partial Facility Care with consent from the parents a safe, nurturing home where their physiological, psycho-social, educational, sports and recreational needs are met. The Gem Juniors Bridging school prepares learners for integration into mainstream formal or special educational needs schools.

-  Community Outreach Programmes in local wards, namelyHelenvale, Zwide & Walmer – The community outreach programmes supports children from disadvantaged communities with sports, life skills, nutritional/soup kitchen and holiday programmes to support their development.

-  In addition to the residential and fulltime programmes, the GemProject also support non-residential community children by providing for their school needs. Depending on the individual learners' needs, these include payment of school fees, school uniform, stationery and all required resources to ensure that the child remains in and complete formal schooling.

A list of our needs :

o Food & Supplies Cash Donations Clothing & Shoes Toiletries

o Books (Reading)o Stationery

o Cleaning Materials Linen, Blankets

o Containers to setup Juniors Classroom & Library

o Computers & Printers to setup Computer Resource Centre

o Tools and Equipment for Youth Skills Centre

o Event Sponsorships – Holiday Programmes & Sports Events

o Sports Equipment, Clothing and Gear

o Protective Clothing for Skills Training

o Transport Support

o Learning Materials

o Professional Expertise – (Medical/Doctors, Clinical & Educational

Psychologists, Occupational Therapy, Dieticians, RemedialTeachers, Life Coaches, etcetera)

o Human Resources – Volunteers (Project Support Staff)

o Mentors/Coaches – Youth Mentors

o Employment Partners – Host Employers for job shadowing and job

placements for the Gem Youth Academy learners

•Contact details : 

Janine Stroebel – Operations Manager

Nafeesa Dinie – Projects Manager

Lundi Pelser – Finance Manager

• Tel/041-3641559/1220

• Physical Address:

Cnr Kragga Kamma & Lake Farm RoadKragga Kamma

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole

• Banking details for those who may wish to donate: 

Account Name: The Gem Project NPC

Bank: First National Bank

Account Number: 62643710256Branch Code: 211-617

Account Type: Current AccountReference: Algoa Cares

Lundi Pelser: Financial Manager 041 364 1559

Finance: lundi@gemproject.co.za

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