WATCH: Bellavista youth have solutions to their challenges
Youth believe the solution are in their hands as long as they work together.
A policy conversation workshop at Bellavista held on November 18 unearthed the top three social ills in the area – substance abuse, gangsterism and unemployment.
Youth Lab, in collaboration with Dreamville and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung SA, held a workshop at Fountain of Praise Ministries International. The aim was to engage the youth in understanding community civic education for democracy.
Mangaka Tau, project manager from Youth Lab, said active citizenry was important, and they wanted to make the youth aware of it.
“We want them to come up with solutions to their community challenges. They need to address them and play important roles in dealing with the issues. They must become problem solvers and not wait for the government to help them,” she said.
Anastasia Jacobs from Dreamville, based in Bellavista, said they want to root out negativity among the youth, especially when it comes to democracy.
“Most youth do not want to participate because they say there is no difference. After it is said and done, we want to motivate the youth to vote. Although they mentioned they see no reason to do so because most of them don’t get opportunities even after matric, we want them to at least consider it,” she said.
The operations manager from Youth Lab, Yola Xotyeni engaged with the youth. She helped them identify the challenges in Bellavista, Chrisville and the surrounding areas.
There were 20 different challenges they came up with. Through interaction and dialogue, they managed to trim them down to three, the most important ones.
Substance abuse, gangsterism and unemployment were then discussed, and they looked at possible solutions.
When it comes to substance abuse, they established that hubbly bubbly, marijuana, crystal meth, alcohol and lean were the most prevalent ones.
They mentioned that to deter youth from using these drugs, hubbly products must be banned, and where available, prices be increased. Marijuana must be legalised, obtained on prescription only and be used for health purposes. Funds need to be raised to build more recreation centres and youth empowerment centres.
The operations manager from Youth Lab, Yola Xotyeni engaged with the youth. She helped them identify the challenges in Bellavista, Chrisville and the surrounding areas. pic.twitter.com/iVbonPZbjn
— Southern Courier SA (@courier_sa) November 22, 2023
With the abuse of alcohol, taverns need to be regulated and stick to age restrictions. Pharmacies must also not sell products to youth without a doctor’s note and schools should administer regular drug tests.
They identified the causes of gangsterism as high school dropouts, toxic and dysfunctional homes, lack of good role models, peer pressure, and lack of discipline both at school and at home.
Their solutions were; better role models in the area, each member of the community assisting where they can, upliftment through dialogue, giving one another words of affirmation and actioning discipline at schools and homes.
Bellavista youth have solutions to their challenges
There were 20 different challenges they came up with. Through interaction and dialogue, they managed to trim them down to three, the most important ones. pic.twitter.com/wqW1ytYXnM
— Southern Courier SA (@courier_sa) November 22, 2023
In unemployment, they focused on nepotism, lack of skills, 4IR, scarcity of opportunities and over-qualification. The youth said there must be stricter recruitment policies, adequate screening of applicants, and external auditors to look after recruitment processes.
They needed skills development programmes with practical internships and the creation of opportunities with remunerations that aligned with global standards. They urged youths to modify their CVs to find a job that matched their qualifications.
Why do you need to vote?
Although some were sceptical about why they must vote, others came up with good points about why voting is important. They established voting can change a lot, but also it can be rigged. One mentioned there was no perfect political party, you must vote for the party that speaks to you.
Others said they become discouraged from registering to vote because there is no change. They said if you don’t vote, your point will not be taken across. Also, if you don’t vote either way, you are influencing the outcome. They mentioned those who do not want to vote must take responsibility for the outcome.
In conclusion
The youth said they learnt a lot from the workshop. They even alluded that solutions are in their hands and they need to continue to do what they can to make them possible. Knowledge is power, and more of these dialogues and workshops will pave the way to a great future.
