Project to address youth literacy
LOW levels of literacy and poor access to information in the communities of Buffalo City will be addressed with the recent launch of the Bumb’ingomso Economic Hub and Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator Project which aims to improve the lives of information-deprived communities.
Bumb’ingomso spokeswoman Athenkosi Sophitsha said the hub aimed to support the aspirations of young people across Buffalo City by providing structures to enable them to realise their potential.
“In all our efforts we seek to tackle the drivers that make young people, especially young women, vulnerable to HIV. Young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are at greater risk of being infected with HIV than their male counterparts.
“Access to economic opportunities, schooling and employment play a role in empowering them to decrease their dependency on toxic relationships, building self-worth and making informed decisions,” she said.
Sophitsha said 54% of the youth in Buffalo City – was unemployed.
“This necessitates partnerships that seek to drive this challenge down through building employability of young people in Buffalo City. We have joined forces with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a leading innovator in the space of youth employment, to drive the work that seeks to change the current unemployment narrative.
“The Opportunity Hub is a space and resource that provides information, skills and tools that will help young people build their profile and to improve their chances of becoming employed or accessing other economic opportunities,” she said.
The project has been adopted by Mayor Xola Pakati’s Library Legacy Project which will use the libraries’ spaces to create opportunities and connections for our youth.
Pakati’s Library Legacy project aims to promote literacy and enhance libraries in Buffalo City to encourage a culture of reading for pleasure, and to serve and engage the community through outreach programmes.
Pakati opened the children’s library, which will go beyond traditional library services, by using books to provide a safe haven for children as well as to provide an area of study so they can complete projects and assignments and sometimes just to do their homework.