Nurturing young talents

WISHING to restore hope and dignity to the KwaNyuswa Community, Siya Gwala saw an opportunity to invest in young minds. Forming the Injabulo Yethu NGO, which means ‘our joy’, Gwala had the intention to gather young people in the area to keep them occupied with educational activities.

“After observing how scattered the youth is, I had the desire to take young people under my wing with the intention to explore their talents. With the help of the municipality and our ward councillor, we invited the youth to join us every Saturday at the community hall, where we practised different activities with the aim to identify their talents.

Also read: Investing in young people

“We discovered entertainment talents where the youth were able to dance in different genres but mostly in cultural dance,” said Gwala.

He said one of their biggest events since the organisation’s inception in 2021 was Heritage Day where the community came out in numbers to watch the youth showcase their talents in dancing, modelling, acting, poetry and singing.

“The day was a success, and many parents were impressed and encouraged their kids to join or continue with us,” he said.

Gwala said that with the lack of funds and support, it has been hard to host events since then, which has also seen the youth pulling out as they were discouraged.

“Hosting events needs funds amongst many other things. We have been stuck in practice sessions with no hosting – this has, in turn, discouraged the parents as they thought it was a waste of time. We have also pleaded with the parents to support us as this will support their children, as well. We have pleaded with parents to be part of the organisation since we work with minors who are not of consenting age. We need parents to allow their children to come to our practices and communicate with us when doing so.”

Gwala further pleaded with local entertainment companies to lend a helping hand in mentoring their youth as this will encourage them to work on their existing talents and skills.

Also read: Serving the youth

Injabulo Yethu met for the first time of the year on Tuesday, March 21, where they delivered last year’s report and went on to plan for the current year.

“Our biggest need right now is an office that belongs to the organisation, equipped with laptops and sound equipment, a projector, stationery and marketing equipment, such as banners. One of our long-term objectives is to have a permanent structure we can call ours where our children can visit anytime to exercise, develop their skills, show off talents, and practise many other activities,” he said.

The community is welcome to jump on this project by contacting Siya Gwala on 061 465 3429.