The Vision 2020 Youth Leadership Programme was recently launched with 220 learners and a few educators from Winile Secondary School (Zonkezizwe, Kathlehong) in attendance.
The Youth Leadership Programme is run under the Imbumba Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by Richard Mabaso in 2011.
Bedfordview residents and philanthropists, Vis and Mona Naidoo, are the custodians of the programme and are taking it nationwide.
“The main programmes of the Imbumba Foundation are Caring4Girls and the Vision 2020 Youth Leadership Programme. Trek4Mandela, also founded by Richard, is an annual International Mandela Day initiative to create further awareness and raise funds for the two programmes,” said Vis.
Attendees of the launch learnt about self-leadership and how to be inspired to have a vision bigger than themselves.
“Vision 2020 Leadership Programme empowers youth to become future leaders so that they make better choices and decisions to live an inspired life. Living an inspired life positively impacts on their communities, creating a ripple effect leading to the country of our dreams,” added Mona.
Vis and Mona point out that Vision 2020 was coined with the aim of the youth and enabling them to have a clear vision for themselves.
The programme equips them to journey to that vision.
“The main objective of this programme is to equip young people with the necessary leadership tools and techniques to become change agents in their respective schools or communities. The programme has been extended to include educators/lecturers during these sessions, with the aim of having them acquainted with the material to assist in reinforcing the principles, monitoring of progress and to further guide the learners along this journey.
“Being immersed in the programme, allows them to be armed with the tools and also inspired to change the lives, beginning with their own,” said Vis.
Mona and Vis made headlines in 2016 when they climbed Kilimanjaro on the Trek4Mandela expedition to create the awareness of the plight of less fortunate youth.
Mona earned the title “Princess Mona of Kili” since she slipped into gold heels, put on a tiara and freshened her lipstick on the glacier covered Uhuru Peak, Africa’s highest peak on Kilimanjaro.
The couple also hosts an annual benefit dinner themed “Friends of Madiba”, where guests get to meet and hear the stories of people that were close to Madiba, to raise funds for the programmes.
They are both ambassadors of Trek4Mandela.
“We aim to have the learners and educators experience a venue outside of their local neighbourhood, as a part of their experiential learning process that the world has so much more to offer. This is an integral part of the inspirational teaching of abundance,” said Mona.
The power couple thanked the Forum Company for the sponsorship of the Turbine Hall venue and excellent catering, as well as the learners and teachers of Winile Secondary School.
“It was a real treat to have Chef Shane Smit live his dream of sharing his journey by being our keynote speaker.
“Shane shared how he turned his passion for cooking, after having only one more year to complete his law degree, into a dream career and becoming the group head chef of Jamie’s Italian Group in South Africa. He truly lives up to his motto of ‘stay humble’,” said Vis.
“We were privileged to have the talented young Karabo Nkoli, who published his book, Whispers of Life, at the age of 14 address the learners and share his journey.
“He is a truly inspirational being who is wise beyond his years,” Princess Mona added.
Vis said it was encouraging to have Bedfordview ward Clr Jill Humphreys support the programme.
“Jill really expressed her conviction in empowering our youth. She also secured the sponsorship of a bus through the Ekurhuleni mayor’s office to transport the learners,” he added.
Personalised video messages were played from Sello Hatang, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen, South Africa’s first Michelin Star Chef Patron of Restaurant JAN in Nice (France), inspiring the students to make a start by doing one little thing that gets you closer to your goal.
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