Embrace Life: Giving hope and purpose to vulnerable youth

Embrace Life,  founded in 2016, will host a Fun Day on Sunday, November 2, at the Zandvlei Resort campsite, to celebrate life and raise community spirit. 

Activities will include games, dominoes, face-painting, and a bring-and-braai.

“We always wait for someone’s death to celebrate them. We want to celebrate life while people are still alive,” said founder  Mark Blake, who shares the executive board with three other board members.

Embrace Life is a non-profit organisation that is working to uplift and empower young people in Lavender Hill and surrounding communities.

Mr Blake, 61, who grew up in Rondevlei and attended several local schools before matriculating at Lavender Hill High, said his difficult upbringing inspired him to create change.

“I never finished matric, but I helped my single mother make ends meet. My faith in God made me strong,” he said. “We must stop finding excuses for our situations and find purpose within ourselves.”

Before founding Embrace Life, Mr Blake worked with the New World Foundation, where he witnessed first-hand the impact of social despair.

“There was a mother who said her husband left her, and she was planning to take her children and end their lives. She told this to a person who attended our social development programmes and intervened and found her a job. That’s the kind of difference we want to keep making,” he said.

Embrace Life operates under three main pillars: Youth Development, with programmes such as Come Clean to help overcome drug abuse; Youth Empowerment, providing support for victims of sexual or emotional abuse through trained counsellors and social workers.

“We make sure anyone who has been abused is referred to safely,” Mr Blake said.

“If the abuser is a family member, we ensure the person is moved to a safe environment. We do not tolerate further abuse.”

The third pillar, Youth Skills Development, helps young people find direction after finishing school.

The organisation also runs a soup kitchen and is appealing for donations to expand its community work. Mr Blake hopes to establish a community radio station serving Lavender Hill, Cafda, Steenberg, Retreat, and as far as Mitchell’s Plain and Bonteheuwel.

“We want to use radio to educate, inspire, and free young people from gangsterism,” he said.

Entry to the event costs R22 a person or R7 a person for groups, with transport available by bus or taxi at a cost price. Sponsors for transport, food, and refreshments are welcome.

For more information or to donate, contact Mark Blake at 066 508 1980 or 081 571 6914, or email mfhb6401@gmail.com