Hotel donates rooms for I Am Somebody!

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I Am Somebody! focuses on supporting the participants in developing a sense of vision and purpose and marking the change they want to make in their lives.

The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel`s efforts to uplift surrounding communities welcomed the young adult group on Sunday, 28 April, while the Sunset Restaurant offered them warm soups and casseroles for dinner before heading up to their rooms for a good night's sleep and an early departure after breakfast.

I Am Somebody! is an organisation based on the belief that people care about one another and that people of all generations want to support youths in their self-actualisation, in knowing that they matter. South African inequality affects youths directly and disproportionately; it impacts whether they can find work, have the education they want, or follow their dreams.

Four camps, eight workshops

The current group in the programme began in May 2012 and will finish this November 2013. The participants, including five women and five men, are between the ages of 18 and 25, all coming from different communities in Cape Town. Rites of Passage involves marking a change in their lives. The programme involves four camps, eight workshops, the development of a personal plan and regular mentorship sessions.

"We hope that our contribution to I Am Somebody! will inspire many more to join the effort," said the Peninsula Hotel's GM, Chris Godenir. "People are at the heart of any organisation and, ultimately, it is our duty to play an uplifting role both inside the hotel and in the broader community."

Under Godenir's management and passion for helping others, the Peninsula has a history of taking part in various charities and organisations, including the Red Cross Children's Hospital, the hotel's own "Charity Begins at Home" drive, as well as the SOS Children's Village and can now add I Am Somebody! to its list.