Giving our youth a head start
June is the month for us to celebrate and honour our past and future leaders
EACH year we celebrate Youth Day on the June 16. Because of this day and the importance of youth development, June is set aside as National Youth Month annually. This year, Youth Month takes place in conjunction with the centenary celebration of Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu.
The UN also celebrates a youth day. They deem the world’s youngest – and largest – population to be of the utmost importance, citing youth as agents of positive change and their inclusion in society more broadly a precondition for sustaining peace.
Onyi Nwaneri, director of Partnerships of Afrika Tikkun, says: “In Youth Month we acknowledge and reflect on the sacrifices of the youth of earlier years and take time to look at the struggles, challenges and achievements of the youth of today.
“They are our future leaders after all. At Afrika Tikkun, young people are at the centre of our being, our development work is essentially geared towards enhancing the well-being, rights, empowerment, protection and lives of the youth of today.” Here are some of their success stories: Kgopi Setsiba, 6, started attending the Early Childhood Development Programme (ECD) at the age of three. After losing her mother, Kgopi received the psychosocial support she needed with the help of her teacher, a social worker and her family, and she has since grown tremendously confident and has shown growth in her emotional development and confidence. She is now a budding dancer, credited as being the best in the ECD.
Lethabo Molefe, 9, is in the Community Youth Development (CYD) programme at Uthando Centre. She wants to become either a nurse or a co-pilot, and says: “I recognise that serving others is not one of my strong points, but it’s something that I would like to learn. I think that education is very important and, for me to become a nurse or pilot, I will need to study hard and pass well.”
Rorisang Mokoena, 11, joined Afrika Tikkun in the ECD programme. She is now completing her Grade 6 in the CYD programme. Rorisang is their youngest peer educator and recently received a CYD award for best academic results. Rorisang is also one of the best speakers in the programme and was chosen to represent Arekopaneng Centre at Thetha FM to talk about bullying in schools. One day, she would like to study electrical engineering so she can tackle the electricity issues at Orange Farm, near Joburg.
Thamsanqa Ncube, 16, started at Afrika Tikkun in the CYD programme. He has a knack for IT and a passion for empowering others. Coding has quickly becoming his need-to-know skill and he is determined to transfer his skills to his peers because he believes they have potential. A slot was given to him by his facilitator to teach, and today he does it with passion and pride.
Thamsanqa says: “My dream is one day to have an animation school where I will teach the next generation of Africa’s hi-tech storytellers.”
Thembani Mayunda, 18, joined Afrika Tikkun in the CYD programme when he was in Grade 6 and attended most of the centre’s programmes on offer. At first an average student, he now excels in his school work and gets 80% in maths and physical sciences.
Last year, he became interested in cycling and has been chosen to travel to the US to participate in the Safelite Triathlon. Thembani is also an entrepreneur who invented noise-cancelling headphones and currently runs his own business. He participated in the National Young Entrepreneurship programme, Step-Up to a Start-Up, and scooped first place. “Afrika Tikkun has changed my life and has become my second home. I’m excited about going to the US. No one in my family has ever been overseas,” he says.
Katlego Zasekhaya, 19, joined the CYD programme in Grade 3 and attended extra classes throughout. As Katlego could only attend English classes on a Saturday morning she initiated a maths learning group and encouraged her group to attend so that they could learn from each other. Katlego passed her matric with a bachelor’s degree pass and secured a three-year scholarship from the Adam G Foundation. She is studying corporate communications at the University of Johannesburg. “I want to be successful and make it big in the communications industry. I will never stop giving back to the community,” she says.
Lindiwe Mabuya, 19, started attending the CYD programme. She is now studying towards a degree through Unisa and volunteers for the organisation. Lindiwe says: “Youth are filled with so much passion and enthusiasm, and Afrika Tikkun enhances that… there is a dream I have, all the world in union… I want to become a psychologist to understand what triggers the human mind and why other people do what they do… I want to help others find solutions to their problems.” – Staff Reporter