Youth have the power to dream

I have spoken to several young people over the past week and if there is one thing that I have noticed, it is that, despite the terrible state of the economy and our great country as a whole, they still dream.

Yes, I am aware that young people are the most affected by unemployment, with two out of every three battling to get employment. And that many of them have given up hope to find a job.

But there are still many of them with dreams for the future.

A well-spoken young man approached me in the parking lot of a centre on the West Rand on Tuesday. “I am from Greenpeace Africa,” he said and showed me pictures on a tablet of the terrible state our planet is in.

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“I’m dreaming of a cleaner, better earth that we can leave to our children. And our job starts here in our country,” he told me.

I’m afraid I didn’t commit to a regular donation – it is Januworry, after all – but I assured them that I will watch their progress and support them wherever I can.

Yesterday, I spoke to a bloke who is waiting for the year to get up to speed so that he can complete his final school year.

He told me about his concern about physics this year – he has to achieve high marks to get into university.

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“I want to study engineering and I’m dependent on an excellent mark. I’ll have to work my butt off to achieve it,” he told me.

If there’s one thing I sincerely believe in, it’s the power of dreams. If you can’t dream, you can’t contribute to a better world, a better life for those who live in it.

But these two young gentlemen can… and they plan to do it.

Until now, I didn’t have new year’s resolutions. But now I do.

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I will buy separate wheelie bins for our humble home. We will sort our refuse; we will say no to plastic at the cashier in shops. I will try to help young people wherever I can.

Because older people, like myself, have lost a great deal of our ability to dream, and then make those dreams come true.

But young people are in a different position. They can still realise their dreams – but they can do it so much better if they have the experience of us older folk to fall back on.

Older folk like me…

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