What's New at Omega Boys Club/Street Soldiers

Omega Training Institute

The Omega Training Institute in San Francisco will be held June 23, 24 and 25, 2008. There is typically a waiting list for this intensive three-day workshop. Early registration is encouraged. The fee remains $750 and a limited number of scholarships are available.

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Omega Boys Club Chosen as Finalist in International Changemakers Competition

Omega's "Alive & Free Movement: Saving a Generation, One Life at a Time" project was selected as one of 14 finalists in the Changemakers' 15th Annual Young Men at Risk collaborative competition. The competition was stiff: 362 entries from 39 countries. In the end, a prestigious panel of judges singled out Omega for "outstanding demonstration of innovation, social impact, and sustainability,"

Now, Ashoka, an international organization of social entrepreneurs, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation invite people throughout the world to select the top three projects, each of which will receive a $5,000 prize. The voting period lasts through March 11th. The three entries receiving the most votes will be announced on March 12th.

Even as one of the 14 finalists, the benefit to Omega and the Alive & Free Movement is significant. As a finalist Omega is invited to speak at the Young Men at Risk Change Summit in Princeton, New Jersey, June 4-6, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson and Ashoka. Changemakers will provide transportation and accommodations for the conference. Ashoka characterizes conference attendees as "investors, thought leaders, and enthusiasts."

To read descriptions of the 14 finalists' projects and vote for your three favorites simply tap the "Vote!" button to link directly to the ballot.

Omega Boys Club 20th Anniversary Recap

Omega Boys Club celebrated its 20th anniversary in high style in the grand Julia Morgan Ballroom atop of the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco's Financial District. The event's energy level soared into the stratosphere as more than 250 friends, family members and guests were immersed in the spirit that has propelled Omega "from the street corners of San Francisco to the four corners of the world."

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Alive & Free: South Africa

In November 2007, I was asked by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs to travel to South Africa to lecture on "Violence Prevention Programs for Youth." It was my second trip to Africa via the State Department, the first having been to Nigeria in 2005. The official request stated that,

"crime rates in South Africa are the highest in the world in some categories. It is estimated that the majority of crimes involve young men. Disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape are particularly plagued by gang violence, drugs and domestic violence. The high crime rates discourage investors, tear apart the social fabric, bleed away the hope for a better future and generally make it almost impossible to tackle intransigent problems such as unemployment, and sexually transmitted diseases. Social workers and community leaders who work with at risk youth in the Western Cape participated in a conference in Birmingham, Alabama in November 2006, put on by Dr. Marshall and were so impressed that they resolved then and there to bring him to South Africa. His is a message of hope with a practical plan."

• Download Dr. Marshall's Journal (Acrobat PDF)

Press Clippings:

• Programme Tackles Roots of Violence (Acrobat PDF)
• Jailed KZN Youths Offered Hope (Acrobat PDF)
• Seminar Aims to Stop Violence (Acrobat PDF)
• Violence — A Disease in South Africa (Acrobat PDF)