Jozi@Work starts search for school ‘wellness warriors’

21 September 2016

 

Jozi@Work, the City of Johannesburg’s community empowerment and job-creation initiative, is on the lookout for “wellness warriors” to implement the City’s Go Jozi Healthy Lifestyle Programme at Johannesburg schools.

 

The Healthy Lifestyle Programme, which started in 2012, is a response to the need to enhance life expectancy in Johannesburg by assisting residents to keep diseases and conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and cancer at bay.

 

It also aims to promote a healthy lifestyle among school pupils across the city. This is done in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Education.

 

The move by the City to enlist the services of co-operatives to achieve this objective was announced during a series of Jozi@Work regional forums in the City’s Region D – which comprises most parts of Soweto – recently.

 

There are 122 schools with a total of 82 236 learners in Region D alone targeted by the Healthy Lifestyle Schools Programme.

 

During the regional forums in Pimville, Diepkloof, Freedom Park, Dlamini and Naledi last week, the City’s Health and Social Development Department officials said the co-operatives the City would work with would have to appoint wellness warriors.

 

Each wellness warrior will be allocated a minimum of five schools, said the department’s Rosina Masoa.

She said preferred bidders will need to have knowledge of the City’s Healthy Lifestyle Schools Programme, experience in the implementation of similar programmes, and inter-personal and communication skills.

 

During the regional forums, Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo also presented work packages for garden maintenance and litter picking at Thokoza Park, Zola Eco Park, Elmon Malele Park, Petrus Molefe Park and Orlando West Regional Park. 

 

“Co-operatives are expected to possess all the basic garden maintenance and horticultural skills. They will be provided with all the necessary tools for the job such as rakes, brooms, brush cutters, refuse bags, fuel and oil,” said City Parks & Zoo’s Thembi Mahlinza.

 

The deadline for the submission of expressions of interest forms is 4pm on Friday September 23. They must be delivered at the Jabulani Civic Centre, 1 Koma Road, Jabulani.