Siyabonga Africa is grateful for its partnership with DSD
The organisation has been upskilling people in different provinces in an effort to fight unemployment.
Siyabonga Africa, an NPO based in Brakpan, will celebrate 40 years since they established it in 1984.
According to centre manager Sarah-Jane Brink, the organisation has worked with the Gauteng Department of Social Development for over 20 years to eliminate poverty by linking young people to economic opportunities.
This partnership has spanned many years, has changed many lives and restored hope to thousands of young people.
Currently, the centre has 250 students in Gauteng doing computer training, fashion design, carpentry, welding, baking, and small-scale farming as part of its skills development programme and provides meals daily to the students.
“Our students don’t worry about food when they come here. Annually, we provide over 8 000 plates of food to our students,” said Brink.
“We want to see a South Africa free from poverty. One of our biggest challenges as a country is unemployment.
“We are focusing our efforts at this point to address poverty by upskilling the youth and linking them to job opportunities or helping them start their own businesses so that they can take care of their families.”
“Last year, through our efforts, we created 242 jobs through community projects countrywide. We are now starting a chilli farm in KwaZulu-Natal where we teach people how to plant, harvest and produce chilli into sauces and other products,” said Brink.
She added, “In Marikana, North-West, we train beneficiaries at the Marikana Youth Development Organisation with baking skills.
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“Currently, they can produce and sell over 200 loaves of bread to the community daily. In Thembisa, we have just set up a vegetable tunnel and a bakery at one school. We help people set up businesses that are going to provide food to the community, provide jobs, and continue with community development,” said Brink.
She further reiterated 70% of their students last year could start their own businesses. Some of them will showcase their products on Mandela Day.
Project coordinator at Siyabonga Africa, Carol Mabope added the centre also supports the department’s Witpoort Treatment Centre based in Brakpan by assisting recovering users with skills development.
“We are also going to include parolees as part of their community work. We do a lot of work to see a self-sustainable and self-dependent youth,” said Mabope.
