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Friends & Fiction: Angels for the youth won’t come from Pretoria

While South African adults fight for the survival of a septuagenarian, our young people are losing opportunities that could make them better people and secure the future of our country.

A nation that is forecasting 0% growth, and whose leaders are a distraction rather than a unifying force, cannot have a bright future.

The world is not waiting for us to sort out our problems. The clock of history ticks on, and our young people are getting left behind.

When our current leaders are dead, the ghost of their selfish actions will continue to haunt our nation, as our young people become older with no experience of the workplace.

The odds are heavily stacked against our young people who are caught in a quagmire of poor education that fails to prepare them adequately for a rapidly changing world.

Little wonder they are resorting to drugs such as nyaope.

In all honesty, this is not the first time that the black community faces such a catastrophe.

During apartheid, the government didn’t care for our community, but we still thrived, because the community took responsibility.

Back then, it focussed on small things, such as street gardens, where the locals took care of the streets they lived in.

It extended to youth clubs, some of which operated from churches, schools and even garages.

It’s a pity that money has become central to everything that we do, to the extent that before anyone starts anything, they beg for sponsorship.

Contrary to common belief, it is not money that makes the world go round, but a strong will. Sponsorships are scarce, and at 0% growth, shareholders are unlikely to be generous. Sponsors buy into success, not dreams – ask any sportsman.

This means that we should first build the society that we dream of. It is only when our programmes are successful that sponsors will follow.

Youth projects need time more than they need money. They need the combined brainpower of their members, but, most importantly, they need action.

They do not only consume energy, there is an immense reward for those who participate. They gain real wisdom that smart devices cannot offer.

It is in youth programmes where the young learn to build relationships outside of their friends, family and school. This is where they learn leadership.

Have you ever wondered why so many children who get distinctions at school or university fail to replicate that kind of achievement in the real world?

It is because they lack the necessary human skills that are not taught at academic institutions, but are available in great abundance within youth programmes.

Angels will not descend from heaven to help your children or your community. They will certainly not come from Pretoria. You have to do it yourself.

Use local schools over weekends to start youth programmes and make them the centres of excellence and positivity.

If you consider the amount of alcohol advertising on billboards and our television sets, it is no wonder taverns are busier than schools on weekends.

In the absence of youthful activity and alternative means of asserting oneself in the community, our girls are falling into the clutches of blessers, and our boys commit crimes in order to make money so they can compete with the blessers.

It is time we put our future first, which is epitomised by our children.

We must be unrelenting in fighting the corrupt and abusive forces that want to disinherit them of their future, but, in the process, we should not neglect our responsibility of building our nation, because no one else will.

Kuzwayo is the founder of Ignitive, an advertising agency

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