Shireen inspiring the youth of Dundee

Armed with a dash of vision, a sprinkle of perseverance and a generous helping of passion, Shireen Ramjoo is taking youth development by storm.
Born in Johannesburg but raised in Dundee, Shireen has been making waves in the world of youth development ever since her earlier days through her organisation Forthefuturelady.
Forthefuturelady is a developmental, inspirational, motivational and informational hub focusing on youth development. They disperse information and opportunities about career options, channels for securing funding for furthering studies, like bursaries and scholarships, opportunities for internships, learnerships, working abroad, exchange programs.
Forthefuturelady also offers a directory for acting, modeling and dance agencies in South Africa, business registry information, as well as links to opportunities for business funding, CV writing, and interview tips.
Forthefuturelady was born out of her innate desire to assist girls because she can relate to them. It also stemmed from her own journey of being a teenage mother.
“Being a teenage mother at 18, I found myself being the breadwinner of our home after my father passed away. With nothing and a baby and a household to look after, I knew failure was not an option,” Shireen explained.
Ever since then she began her journey of youth development, her journey led her first to obtaining a degree in Public Relations Management and then in Communications Sciences.
Since then she spiraled towards youth development and has had numerous projects and programmes for the youth in the Johannesburg area. One such programme was a workshop done at high schools and tertiary institutions on Personal Development Planning.
The youth were taught how to create effective goals and life planning. Another programme was career counselling and this was done in conjunction with Spread-the-luv movement. Partnered with an organisation called Bokamoso she also formed part of a phenomenal youth development programme in Soweto.
This programme aims at creating a strong network and helping bridge the gap between children from township schools and Model C schools. This was achieved by allowing the children to meet, interact and share ideas together.
Her new journey was to the quaint town of Dundee where she partnered with the Couriers’ Youth Revolution team. “I hope to transform the youth, especially girls, because we need more strong, driven and go-getter women in our communities,” Shireen lamented.
“I have also approached five disadvantaged primary schools in Dundee with a proposal to put three to five of their best candidates forward for a fully paid scholarship for the rest of their schooling careers, compliments from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls,” Shireen added. With all the future plans for Dundee in the pipeline, she is also busy finishing her book titled ‘Turning challenges to achievements’.