Afrika Tikkun breeds new go-getters
ALEXANDRA – The paper [certificate] you just received will remain worthless unless you move yourselves forward, says Onyi Nwaneri.
More than 250 graduates of the Afrika Tikkun Game Changers programme in Alexandra are now poised to do just that – change the game of youth disillusionment to that of shrewd go-getters who are aggressively enterprising.
The Phuthaditjaba Qoqizizwe Centre graduates were honoured at a graduation ceremony at Houghton Hotel on 7 May. The centre was founded by leading township philanthropist Linda Twala and is in partnership with Afrika Tikkun.
CEO of NPO Afrika Tikkun Services, Onyi Nwaneri said to make the year-long programme a success that it was they sought various partners, among them the City of Johannesburg, Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority, and Flick Environmental Services.
Nwaneri said partnerships such as this would be the game-changers in the life of the youth, not just in South Africa, but on the entire African continent and the world at large.
“With this programme and partnerships, the youth can now move from perennial disillusionment with the system to enterprising young business people that can put food on their families’ tables and build roofs above their heads,” Nwaneri said in her address at the graduation ceremony.
The graduates went through Seta-accredited training in various empowerment programmes such as running cooperatives, project management, self-employment, and small business skills such as pest control, plumbing and establishing food gardens.
Addressing the graduates, Nwaneri reminded them that it took a village of partnerships to get them where they were, and that village would be watching their progress closely.
“The various partners just enabled and supported you but the only person that can move you forward is none other than yourself. I am delighted to announce that already more than 10 cooperatives from various economic spheres have been given birth from within the group of graduates.
“Without you moving forward, that paper [certificate] you have just acquired will remain nothing but a worthless piece of paper,” Nwaneri added.
