WARD 21 councillor Bongani Gumede believes that proper education and equipping young people with skills is what South Africa needs to go forward and fight poverty.
To achieve his goals, Gumede said, he will need support from everyone to make this year a success. He said his plans for this year will focus mainly on the youth as he will be launching a trust called Ikusasalethu that will focus on four pillars.
“There will be an entrepreneurship development programme where we will be teaching young people how to draft a business plan and to write a CV. We are also looking at a sports development programme where we will also include arts and culture. I think we need to focus on other sports besides soccer and netball. We need to introduce cricket, rugby and other sports to children especially in the townships,” said Cllr Gumede.
The third pillar that the trust will be focusing on is community outreach where young people will learn the spirit of volunteering.
“We will take them to places like old age homes and places of safety where they will be able to give back to the community. There will be a life skills programme where we will teach them about different skills, offer them career guidance and discuss general issues that affect them, such as teenage pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse and HIV/AIDS,” added Cllr Gumede.
“The life skills programme will start on Saturday 18 January. We will be inviting 2013 matriculants who failed accounting and will be writing in March to attend extra classes. We will also encourage them to start study groups. Young people need to realise that they need to work hard to achieve good marks so that they can have a bright future,” said Cllr Gumede.
Old people are also part of Cllr Gumede’s plans as he will also be launching a senior citizens forum. The elderly will be taught to lead a healthy lifestyle and will be given the opportunity to participate in programmes that will keep them busy and entertained.
Anyone who would like assist Cllr Gumede can contact him on 082 629 4981, email bonganig@ikusaslethu.org or bongani.gumede@webmail.co.za.
