Reformed dirty dozen help youth

Yolandé Hayward WEEKEND POST REPORTER haywardy@avusa.co.za

THEY‘VE gone from being hardcore drug addicts and gangsters to computer geeks giving advice to troubled youngsters through Mxit.

This is the story of a group of 12 men and women who call themselves The Reconstructed.

All the members of the group have had experience with either drug addiction and dealing as well as gangsterism. However, they have been fully rehabilitated and trained to talk to troubled people and through Mxit are now reaching out to those who need a shoulder to lean on.

The brainchild behind the principle is social entrepreneur and Information Technology lecturer Marlon Parker, who visited Port Elizabeth this week. He was the guest speaker at a 27 Dinner‘s function on Thursday night and was in town to share his ideas with local role players.

Parker, who lectures at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), is doing his PhD in information technology and is focusing on using technology to change communities at risk.

Through his studies he made contact with a organisation called Impact Direct that deals with rehabilitating citizens and communities.

After putting heads together the idea of using technology to rehabilitate communities was born. Using Mxit to do this is one of the legs of the project.

The men and women reaching out through Mxit all went through Impact Direct, were rehabilitated and received training in how to talk to troubled people. Parker came on board and trained them how to use various forms of technology.

Now, every Tuesday and Thursday between 3 and 5pm they are sharing their stories with thousands of children and adults across the country.

The project was launched in August this year and one day after the launch there were already 50 subscribers. Four months down the line there are more than 4000 subscribers across the nation. More than 25000 messages have been received and about 8000 conversations have taken place.

Many people, including those on the verge of suicide, have received help through this project, which Parker and his team have been doing without any funding.

Parker explained that the use of Mxit to reach people was like an emergency paramedic who stabilised a situation and then took the patient to a hospital. Those who reached The Reconstructed and who were in need of professional help were referred to professionals.

The reason why Mxit was chosen as a means of reaching out was because about 10 million South Africans are on Mxit and about 35-million have cellphones.

Parker chose this specific project because he knows what it is like “to have gangsters kicking your front door open during the night”. He said he grew up on the Cape Flats and that his brother, who‘d got involved with gangsterism and drugs, was now in jail. The members of The Reconstructed have similar stories.

To hear what these people have to say, join them on Mxit and to find out about some of Parker‘s other projects visit www.thereconstructed.com

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