Hi! My name is Claudia Sacco and I am a MOT Coach and the MOT Coordinator at Zeekoevlei High School, in the Grassy Park area.
My journey as a MOT Coach started in 2019 when MOT SA and Wynberg Rotary approached schools in the Grassy Park / Lotus River area to implement the MOT Programme. It is aimed at targeting 12 –16-year-olds to develop robust, confident, courageous young individuals.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our plans to implement the Programme have been delayed.
In March 2021, 5 educators at our school, including myself, had been trained as MOT Coaches. The initial training that we received was very informative and interactive. It was quite daunting at first but the training was conducted in such a way that it made you want to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone. It allows you to put yourself into the shoes of the youth and experience the challenges and fears that they are experiencing daily and try to find a way to motivate and empower them to overcome anything that comes their way.
What makes the MOT Programmes unique?
What makes the MOT Programmes unique is its approach. The use of fun games role-plays, and group discussions allow the youth and the coach to go through the experience and tackle various situations that impact their lives.
Our school had our first MOT session with our Grade 8s in April 2021. At the time we had faced many challenges such as strict COVID-19 regulations and a rotational schooling timetable but regardless we implemented the Programme with great success. Each MOT Coach had adopted a Grade 8 class where we conveyed what we had learned through our interactive MOT sessions where we had our learners expressing their thoughts, feelings and opinions, participating in games, displaying leadership and communication skills and reflecting on their actions as well as their peer’s actions in various situations.
By the end of our second session, we had our learners singing the MOT song proudly, wearing their MOT wrist bands, and feeling proud of being part of a community of young individuals who will advocate for positive change.
MOT makes a difference!
As MOT Coaches, we are grateful for the opportunity given to us to be able to make a change in the lives of many youngsters by being the positive role models that many of them are lacking in their lives.
Our ultimate goal is for the core values of the MOT Programme to be instilled within our youth and ultimately for it to spread into our communities through our youth where they can become and live out the much-needed change needed in this world.
Thank you MOT SA for providing us with the tools to change the lives of so many for the better!
Check out this month’s MOT Coach Blogger of the Month, Mr Terence Klassen, Principal of Fairmount Secondary School, MOT Coach and this year’s Are Hovstad Award Winner is this month’s MOT Blogger of the Month. Here he shares his story about how MOT started and the effect of the MOT Programme on the staff, youth and community at and around the school. Click here to be inspired.
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