Message to the Youth

We, the youth of today should be aware that it's an information age, meaning that with lack of information one might find him/herself watching people succeeding and wonder how they do that. It’s a pity to hear someone complaining that the government is not doing anything to improve the lives of the voters. Which is not true all, the government do what he can do to make the lives of the citizens better. The only thing that the government cannot do is to put the money in every citizen’s account or go on door-to-do basis to give people whatever they might desire. You find a lot of people blaming the government for their poverty; but when you look at it from the other way around you find out that it’s the negligence of the people, especially the youth, that make them poverty stricken.

There are a lot of initiatives being implemented by the government to make the citizens’ lives better. There are many institutions dedicated by the government to develop the lives of the citizens, especially the youth. Hereby this piece I would like to urge the youth of South Africa to seek and search for these opportunities. What is important for the youth is to stay informed about these government implemented initiatives. Nowadays, there are even opportunities whereby the youth are allowed to attend for free at the high schools, universities and FET colleges, by means of bursaries and loans. These are National Student Financial Scheme (NSFAS) bursaries done by the government and other assistance by various organizations to accommodate those who come from below average income families.

The problem with us, the youth of today, is that we always believe in the easy ways or short cuts to success, which is definitely impossible. Other people get a very little stipend for as long as 24 months just to gain experience. Others go as far as working for even 12 months without any salary, but they persevere because they are aware that no company can be willing to hire someone with no practical experience. Even the graduates who have obtained their tertiary level qualifications should be aware that no organisation can hire someone fresh from the university to take a position of a practitioner or officer with only a theoretical knowledge or with no hands-on experience. As the youth of today we are so fortunate that we are allowed to start our own companies, cooperatives and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in order to develop and advance our lives. There are even programs such as Cooperative Incentive Schemes (CIS), whereby the government is aiming to fund and support the lives of the youth in business. All the above mentioned services were initiated by the government to advance the lives of those who would like to develop themselves. Our problem as the youth is that we are expecting the government to spoon-feed us. What lacks to the youth of today is patience and passion, which one cannot go further without.