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The “BE YOUR DREAM” Project

Project Description

The “Be Your Dream” project is an initiative by Anaïs, the artist and Ambassador of LifeLine. The project is structured to spread awareness throughout South Africa regarding LifeLine, and their free services and counselling that is provided for anyone in need. The project is aimed at supporting and assisting the population of South Africa, during a time when social wellness is required.

Statement of Needs

The South African population faces many challenges, both economic and social. Statistical data that was collected presents a concerning picture of our present unemployment rate, which is currently 25.5%. Social challenges, such as alcohol and drug abuse, appear to be on the rise with 1 in 5 people admitting to abusing substances. Similar statistics are noted with regards to women being exposed to physically and sexually violent relationships. In addition, over 70000 girls under the age of 18 years old fall pregnancy annually, while 21.7% of the youth are believed to be HIV positive. These social and economic factors have a detrimental effect on the emotional wellbeing of our youth. Most services today focus on meeting needs, such as food, shelter, and education. Emotional wellness, including self-esteem, problem solving skills, and general communication skills are underplayed and result in bullying, drug and/or alcohol addiction, sexual activities, mental and physical abuse, rape and suicide.
Monthly updated factsheets on most social challenges we face, are constructed by LifeLine for Anais to use in her awareness performances and also for radio and television talk shows. Anaïs is equipped at all times to give her and LifeLine’s take on any specific situation that is currently happening, for instance the rape outcry of recent.
Anaïs and LifeLine strongly believe that if people are to overcome these challenges they need to be emotionally capacitated to do so. On-going education will still not be effective in improving the plight of South African people in personal and emotional difficulties if concerns are not appropriately dealt with.
The core focus of the partnership between Anaïs and LifeLine is to raise awareness regarding the importance of emotional wellness, and to ensure that everyone has a place to turn when in need. LifeLine provides free services to everyone, such as lay counselling, assistance, guidance, and much more.
Statistics have proven a 78% increase in the LifeLine telephone call centre, since the “Be your Dream” project commenced 6 months ago.

“Be Your Dream” Project’s Purpose and Objectives

The partnership seeks to promote and enhance emotional wellness amongst all citizens within South Africa. In the context of this project emotional wellness refers to an individual’s capacity to live a full and creative life, whilst possessing the flexibility to deal with life’s inevitable challenges. In short, we hope to spread awareness of the Lifeline services in order to save, and improve lives.
The “Be your Dream” performances are performed by Anaïs. Together with her team (highly acclaimed stage director, Ivor Jones, Idols vocal coach and well known producer, Malie Kelly, and well known choreographer from “Strictly come dancing”, Quintus Jansen) she has put together a world class performance. This project has proven itself over the trial period of the past few months. The response has been better than anticipated. As previously stated, a 78% increase in calls to the LifeLine centre has been evident since this project was initiated. In the “Be your Dream” performance, not only is awareness regarding LifeLine spread, but also trust in Anais as a role-model is built, by emphasising her concern for her fans through her availability via social networking. Since the “Be your Dream” project began 1year ago, Anais, the role model and artist, has had a growth of 119 000 likes, friends, and fans on her facebook page, which was setup for the project. The social network has become a great tool to talk to people directly on an ongoing basis, as well as to refer them to LifeLine’s counselling services.

In fulfilling the aforementioned purpose and mission the projects key objectives are as follows:

• To raise awareness amongst people regarding the services provided by LifeLine and to encourage those in need to utilise these services.
• To empower and motivate people towards positive life choices through the “Be your Dream” initiative.
• To capacitate LifeLine to provide direct counselling services through the 24 hour telephonic counselling line, as well as face to face counseling when possible.

Key Activities and Outcomes

In addition, the “Be your Dream” campaign is promoted by using Anais as a positive role model and reflection of what determination and hard work can mean to South Africans. At all concerts leaflets, which provide LifeLine’s 24 hour counselling telephone number, are distributed. Interaction with the crowd takes place, providing encouragement and enhancing the services that LifeLine provides. No one goes home without knowing LifeLine’s free call line number: 0861 322322

Some of the Be Your Dream projects

The Be Your Dream – School project:

The Be Your Dream Youth Project at schools

The “Be your Dream” production is performed 8 -12 times a month, and reaches out to over 12 000 youths every month. Over 3 years we hope to have travelled through South Africa, visiting most schools and an estimated 432 000 youths. This will make a huge difference in the end, resulting in a healthy social wellness in South Africa. After all, the youth of today is the future of tomorrow.

Why are the school performances needed?

The “Be your Dream” campaign empowers people, especially the youth, to seek assistance when necessary, serving as an early intervention strategy towards promoting emotional wellness, and thus saving and improving lives.
Anaïs and her team have been addressing adults and the youth through performances in corporate organisations, community platforms, universities, and schools and churches where they reinforce this message. This has been a welcomed opportunity to promote the services available, and to encourage people to seek help from LifeLine when faced with difficult challenges.

The Be Your Dream – Bursary scheme:

Anaïs has initiated bursary schemes at two different institutions, (Campus of Performing Art, and Academy of Sound Engineering) which are funded by herself, for candidates who have dreams to study, but who have no means to do so. In doing so, Anais enables these individuals to achieve and “Be Their Dream”. She has proven herself to be a remarkable role model, giving more from herself, in order to “pay it forward” to a South Africa that is in need.

The Be Your Dream -Church Outreach project.

Anaïs addresses adults, parents, youths in short the entire community via the church family with the Be Your Dream project. This is done through a heart-warming, life changing performance where Anais and Andries Hendrik Potgieter, testifies of the project and their lives. Through this they hope to reach, teach, share, and help the church family to cope with life’s challenges.
Anais and her band, starts the service with the an introduction of who she is as an artist and as the National Ambassador of LifeLine and what the outreach is about. She then show’s a hair-raising must see video compilation of the realities that our children, friends and families face daily when no one is watching. Thereafter she shares of her experiences throughout the entire project and informs parents of what demons the youth of today faces in reality and all the things parents are not aware of. She also testifies of her personal journey of how the Be Your Dream project and song came to exist. She shares some video clips of the school shows and the entire project, and the changes they have made in others lives via the reality show where teenagers dreams come true, and they are able to live their dreams. She also shares the Be Your Dream song and a few other touching songs, LifeLine dedicated to the project.
At this time she introduces a her guest artist, who can testify of a life of destruction and death, but who is now “living his dream”.
Andries Hendrik Potgieter, (the direct descendant of the original “Voortrekker”) shares his story of how he got to live his dream after his walk through the valley of darkness.
Andries is a walking talking testimony of what Anais and LifeLine faces daily within the youth at ALL SCHOOLS and universities and campuses. Youth is seen as 13-35 years old. His life “WAS” what they witness and council daily. He has however through Jesus Christ walked an amazing journey and been saved in all senses. (A MUST TO HEAR). He too is an artist and he has a “best seller” book written by acclaimed author, Maretha Martins about his Life too, titled “Liglopers”.
After his life-changing story, Anais and the Band joins him and together with the church’s music team they lead the congregation in praise and worship. They are available afterwards for anyone to talk to etc.

The Be Your Dream -Better workplace project.

Anaïs addresses adults in the working environment too with the Be Your Dream project. This is done through a heart-warming, life changing performance where they teach, share, and help employees in a company to cope with life’s challenges. This project will ensure a healthier and more stable working environment, as well as happier employees, thus creating a better workplace, and improved productivity.

Conclusion

Your support for this project would enable LifeLine to create and share a trusted, moral based awareness amongst our working environment. Additionally, it would aid LifeLine to provide free services that would enable them to help save lives. The value of LifeLine’s services in developing self-esteem, and long term problem solving skills cannot be understated. True success becomes more apparent when one is able to effectively deal with life challenges.