Youth Dialogue comes to town
NPOs come together to uplift and empower youth in Joburg communities.
Youth from the community of Fairview and surrounds were the intended targets of a first-of-its-kind Youth Dialogue on July 13.
Initiated and organised by 22-year-old Dimakatso Makhasane, who lives in Malvern and is the founder of the NPO Mentor Me Too, the event was aimed at bringing the youth together to discuss and dissect various issues affecting them, both socially and politically.
Makhasane said community leaders, including councillors, ought to pay more attention to the needs of the youth.
“We aim to engage with young people using this platform to get a sense of some of the social and political issues that are affecting them, as well as try and identify ways to tackle these issues,” said Makhasane.
She hopes more youth can begin to take a firm stance and effect positive change around them.
“Beyond just this dialogue, we are hoping that we’ll have more young people engaging and taking charge to drive change in their communities.
“We are also hoping councillors will hear us and include us in some of the activities that they run.”
Zamokuhle Masondo, who runs the NPO Dark Cloud Above Me, in Ennerdale, joined forces with Makhasane in order to expand on the widening conversation around mental-health issues the youth are facing.
“As an organisation that tackles this, we feel that it is important that the mental health aspect of such mentorship interventions also takes precedence.
“Our mandate is to provide depression support and awareness programmes as this goes hand-in-glove with a number of youth-centred issues,” said Masondo.
Meanwhile, health coordinator at MES Impilo, also an NPO with its focus on sustaining health and wellness activities across various Joburg communities, Olebile Moji, said the partnership with Mentor Me Too was an important one.
“Looking at the rise of HIV and unwanted pregnancies among youth between the ages of 13 and 16, it has become more urgent to convey messages of health to this group.
“Young people sometimes find it hard to have these conversations with their parents and it is our responsibility to advocate to them. The youth are indeed the future and we should not neglect them,” said Moji.
