Getting youth to fight crime

DURING the State of the Nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that during this year a community policing strategy would be implemented. The aim would be to gain the trust of the community and secure their full involvement in the fight against crime which is plaguing the nation.

Also on the cards is a youth crime prevention strategy to empower and support young people as they play the lead in the upcoming crime-fighting initiatives.

As the fragrance of change still fills the atmosphere, we should use this opportunity to garner even more support for peace and safety in our communities. We should suggest methods which can change the narrative of our society.

A key way to do this is through engaging and understanding initiatives that have already taken shape within our various spaces so we do not have to reinvent the wheel, including checking what local government is doing to eradicate social ills.

Junior Chamber International (JCI) Cape Town is an international organisation whose mission is to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change in communities. JCI is working to inspire young people to recognise their responsibility to create a better world and empower them to take initiative to solve local challenges.

Working in collaboration with the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG), it is forging a new direction to turn Cape Town into a city of peace.

Key projects include Peace My City, Youth Peace Lectures, and World Clean-up Day on September 15 with Let’s Do It! South Africa.

All these projects are open to be recreated in any ward within Cape Town that is willing to take up the challenge to help develop a new culture of peace as an alternative to a culture of war and violence within our communities.

Through the Peace My City initiative, areas associated with conflict are targeted with the intention of refurbishing them into peace zones.

In April last year the Gugulethu NY116 Sports Field was identified as the best location to initiate the campaign as many youths in the area who are faced daily with struggles and live in gang-stricken areas come together there in a game of soccer.

The field was revamped with a peace mural then cleaned up again with Let’s Do It! and JCI.

The peace mural is well maintained, an example of what youth can do when they work together for peace. Let us all engage to eradicate local challenges related to crime.

To volunteer or suggest a project for Peace My City, drop us an e-mail: sa@ipyg.org

* International Peace Group, South Africa

INSPIRE YOUNG PEOPLE TO RECOGNISE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD