The girl, from a socially excluded locality, has been a client of the low-threshold social service for children and youth Caravan in Krnov since 2017, when she was 14 years old. She started coming to the Caravan club based on the recommendation of community work workers, for the purpose of meeting her peers and participating in leisure activities, which also include a dance club. The girl regularly visited the Low Threshold Facility for Children and Youth and through conversations and time spent with the staff, she developed trust in them.
After completing compulsory schooling, she entered the first year of the Business Academy and Secondary Vocational School of Logistics in Opava. Throughout her studies, the girl was one of the excellent students and staff of the Low Threshold Facility for Children and Youth, and community work often helped her with explaining the curriculum, preparing for tests or with expert reports on given topics. The girl was actively involved in the dance club at the club, where she helped the lecturer with the preparation of dance choreography and performed at many cultural and social events as part of the dance group. More than once, the dance group was also placed on the podium, which motivated and supported it in improving itself.
In her third year of high school, she worked with the club’s staff all year on her final year project, which she was very proud of, and she also received a teacher’s award for a job well done. In 2021, the girl expressed an interest in leading a dance club within the club premises. Our organization has therefore decided to join the Crime Prevention project of the city of Krnov, which makes it possible to employ young people and thus teach them independence and work habits. Since March of this year, the girl has been leading a dance club under the auspices of the Low Threshold Facility for Children and Youth Caravan. She learned to communicate with younger children, teach them new dance skills, but also not to be afraid to show the public her strengths in the form of representing the dance group and herself. During the summer holidays, she also tried out the role of instructor at suburban camps. She was involved in the preparation of activities for children and also in the implementation itself.
The girl is now in her fourth year of high school and is preparing for her matriculation exams. He regularly talks with the workers about concerns about the graduation and develops his graduation questions with them. The workers motivate the girl to attend school regularly, to succeed in her studies, but also to continue her studies at university. At first, the girl showed considerable apprehension about studying at the university, but now she is determined to apply to university and continue her studies with the support of the staff and her family.
Project is funded by Norway grants 2014-2021.