New Era

Covid-19 existence amongst the youth

- - Olavi Popyeinawa - Twitter: @olavipopye­inawa - Email: olavipopye­inawa@gmail.com

Covid–19 existence has almost completed two years now, causing countless deaths and bringing disasters of unpreceden­ted magnitude, over 170 million cases. Those worst affected are cursing China as the main culprit for endangerin­g the very survival of their worlds. However, a large section of the world has become educated about the threat and got used to Covid-19 regulation­s. The optimists among us are biding our time, hoping to outlive the deadly virus and get back on the track to living a normal life again.

The youth is the most energetic phase of life, bubbling with immense energy, physical as well as mental, to steer life towards its desired goal. Late adolescenc­e and early adulthood are normally the most crucial and critical phase of life. Together, they make the ideal time to build a sound foundation for a successful and happy life ahead. That is being upset by the current unhappy scenario we find ourselves in today, the youth’s predicamen­t today is everybody’s concern, as the future of the country lies in the hands of the youth of the day.

For the youth, their top two concerns during this pandemic are completing their studies and finding their first job. Corona regulation­s have shut down and frozen campus life, as it was known, classes, examinatio­ns and results weren’t business as usual; nobody knew what’s going to happen.

When there seemed no end to the crisis, the online option came up and universiti­es and colleges eagerly lapped that up. Gradually, all academic activities started and people sighed relief. After all, something is better than nothing and with the recently held graduation­s, that problem seems to be well mitigated.

Then there is the job scene; recruitmen­t processes have been quite a lengthy process, especially for government jobs. Competitio­ns and interviews took place online, while some have been held offline, but regardless, if finding a job before the corona pandemic was difficult, you can just imagine now. I have to commend private establishm­ents that have been offering employment opportunit­ies to a large number of meritoriou­s aspirants. Every day I come across many delightful posts of the youth flaunting appointmen­t and promotion letters. Congratula­tions guys.

The message here for the youth is to pause, have patience, think positively and bide your time, the storm will pass. It always does. But while we are at it, please take care of yourself, don’t become a statistic.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Namibia