YOB still determined to empower the youth. serve the community
YOB gives youngsters the opportunity to serve the community by doing good deeds, such as visiting the SPCA and old age homes in a group.
In an effort to make a difference in the community, two youngsters from Boksburg, Juandré Potgieter and Erin Patience, established the Youth Of Boksburg Club (YOB) earlier this year.
They want to raise awareness around issues, such as climate change, discrimination, bullying, equality, anxiety and depression and feminism, by organising talks.
The Advertiser caught up with Erin to find out more about YOB.
Q: How has your journey been so far?
A: Juandré and I were really nervous about starting YOB, but the support we got from people encouraged us to give back to the community. I also learned a lot by being part of this initiative.
Q: YOB is going from strength to strength. How do you feel about the positive reaction from the community?
A:We are grateful that the response and inputs we received from the community has been so good. I hope that we can get more people involved in the future.
Q: What activities did YOB initiate and which activity was the most successful?
A: We attended the Youth Climate Change march in September and spread the news of this initiative to various interviewers. Juandré and I would like to host more activities. It is quite challenging as we have school responsibilities and limited time to get to everything. We are in contact with old age homes that we would like to visit next year.
Q: Do you face any challenges as the co-founder of the YOB?
The challenges I personally face is trying to plan things that can include everyone as well as prioritising my time, after all, I have to attend to my personal activities.
Q: You recently attended the Extinction Rebellion talk about science and the effects of climate, mainly in South Africa and Africa. Why did you attend it and what was the most important thing you learned at the talk?
To educate myself more on the effects of climate change. The most important thing I learned was how badly it affects Africa. Because we naturally have hot weather, if the earth’s temperature rises to one degree Celsius, it means that we will suffer double that degree. Africa will have severe storms and droughts, which will lead to climate migration and food shortage among other things. I would also like to thank the Extinction Rebellion for inviting me and helping me understand climate change better.
Q: There is also now a YOB Reiger Park. Why was this initiative started?
It coincidentally started when I joined my mother at one of the amazing projects she does in the area. I told one of the people about YOB and they were interested in joining us. So we are now trying to include Reiger Park in everything we plan and want to do.
Q: What do you think can be done to make Boksburg a better place?
A: People should get more involved, whether by helping your local school or even donating something to a charity organisation.
Q: Is there anything you would like to add that you feel is important?
Educate yourself on social issues. We have unlimited access to world news, so don’t hesitate to do research and ask questions. It doesn’t matter what your age, gender or culture is, we are all affected by what happens in the world around us. I also want to thank all the YOB members for being the best at being interactive and willing to help.
People interested in becoming part of YOB may send a WhatsApp message to Juandré on 074 049 1618 or Erin on 078 820 7851.
