Restoring hope among the local youth

Brandon Xinti from Devland knows very well the hardships that comes with being unemployed.

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The 25 year old spent first five full years after matric without a job.

“I had a temporary job for one year and after that I couldn’t get a job for five years,” said Xinti.

“It was a very difficult time in my life so much that I went into depression and isolated myself from family and friends.”

Nicol Rossouw from Eldorado Park is also another young person who knows the struggles of not having a stable job. The 28 year old had been getting piece jobs and even tried running a spaza shop from her home.

“It was very tough especially because there was no income in my household. You send out CVs everyday but not get any response or get called for an interview only to be rejected,” explained Rossouw.

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Xinti and Rossouw’s stories are a microcosm of a broader challenge facing South Africa today, youth unemployment. The good thing about them though is that they are now part of a group of 100 local youth who have been recruited to work under the Faranani Infrastructure Project.

Backed by Youth Build South Africa and the Trevor Noah Foundation, the project is empowering youth from Eldos, Freedom Park and Braamfischer with skills in construction.

After being trained, the cohorts will work in projects to refurbish schools which have been identified under the Khulani Schools Programme.

“The recruited young people undergo training for six months before they can go back to the identified schools in their communities to begin work,” explained Amanda Mokoena from the Trevor Noah Foundation.

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“The reason we have partnered with Youth Build is because we are passionate about education and you can’t look at education without looking at infrastructure.

“We chose to work with young people in our communities because we want them to be at the forefront of protecting the infrastructure even from vandalism when there are protests.”

While these young people will be working towards building their communities, they will also be earning money and get certificates as well to help with future employment. It is an idea Rossouw is very optimistic about.

“I’m feeling very positive about this, not only because I will be able to support my family but also because the certificate that I will get when the project is complete will open doors for me.

“It will be a good stepping stone and maybe make it easy for me to get a job in future,” said an excited Rossouw.

Faranani Infrastructure Project is a second chance programme for young people who are out of school and unemployed. It seeks to give them hope and empower them with skills to use as they face life in the real world.

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Lorenzo Hontense, a team leader from Youth Build is also optimistic about the positive outcomes the project will yield in Eldos and surrounding communities.

“The attendance in the past three months has been absolutely great and young people are showing willingness to learn,” he said.

“We would like to thank the Trevor Noah Foundation, Faranani and Youth Build for believing in my community and making this possible for us as young people.”