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Siyakha
Isizwe: |
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| Summer 1999, v15-3 | ||||||
| Challenged by the idea that young
people could make visible contributions to their communities while developing their
own skills, I worked with a group of youth development activists to design and implement
the Youth Work Scheme. Knowing that conventional approaches to training and education
would not work, we set out to use community development as a vehicle for youth development.
From the first day we had more eager volunteers than we could handle. We challenged young people to frame the solutions, design plans, allocate roles, review eachother's performance, resolve conflicts, learn about social problems in their communities, and how to overcome them. Young people opted for the slogan "Siyakha Isizwe: we build the nation." After many discussions with different community leaders, bureaucrats, and politicians, we piloted our first schemes in a hospital and a school in Soweto. Raising money for the project was difficult at first, but when people saw that the young people were capable and reliable, we started getting grants from donors. Three years later, the program has touched over 20 communities. Young people have refurbished schools, decorated a children's hospital, built two community churches and a community center, converted a house into a children's library, and a river has been cleaned up. Young people have also worked as tutors, mentors, and caregivers. We did not set out to repair damage but to build skills. We did not set out to repair damage but to build skills. We were happy to see a decline in recidivism, substance abuse, and family conflicts. In addition, the number of young people getting jobs and going back into training and education was growing. The most powerful evidence of our success was when adults started working side by side with the young people. As one parent put it, "in this country our children have always shown us the way, even under the most difficult of circumstances." The Youth Work Scheme is run by the Joint Enrichment Project (JEP), a project of the South African Council of Churches and Southern Africa Catholic Bishops Conference.  |
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