Unemployment in the Greater Eldorado Park and Soweto area is extremely high. Committing to making a difference in the affected areas, Kumaka Early Development Index (KEDI) hosted its second Youth Dialogue.
With the purpose of making a tangible difference, KEDI joined forces with numerous stakeholders at the Don Mateman Civic Centre Hall in Eldorado Park Extension Five on October 25.
Present at the dialogue were stakeholders like Lulaway, iCollege, TAG Counselling and Recovery Centre, SANCA Central Rand Alcohol and Drug Centre, Greater Eldorado Park Youth Desk, ICASA, Soweto Kliptown Youth Foundation, Eldos Arts n Jazz Festival, EMS, CWP, CAS Foundation, Nicro Centre Soweto and Haii Suka Clo.
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The youth dialogue was intended to create a platform for the youth to gain access to opportunities.
Skills in any field is a very important aspect went it comes to job hunting because without the necessary job skills it is not easy to perform adequately.
KEDI youth dialogue aimed to empower the youth through skills development programmes and giving them access to resources and bettering their entrepreneurial skills by providing them with the necessary resources.
Furthermore, the dialogue was also an opportunity for the councillor to engage with the youth. The dialogue was not only restricted to unemployment but touched on the many social ills affecting the community.
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Substance abuse, which is prevalent in Eldorado Park was a focal point, and they aimed at getting users and non-users to discuss drug abuse openly, thus giving the youth the opportunity to speak to the necessary stakeholders which deal specifically with the problem.
About 160 youth from the Greater Eldorado Park attended the dialogue, seeking the necessary help to equip their minds with a way forward.
Many of them raised issues like poor marketing for the event as many people were unaware about similar information sessions.
Councillor Peter Rafferty has committed to paying for five young adults to attend iCollege.
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He also formed part of a councillor engagement session where the youth raised issues such as the lack of opportunities in Eldorado Park and the need for a youth centre to be established.
Suggestions were made about how to tackle the substance abuse epidemic in the community.
According to Rafferty, he was also committed to having a sit-down with stakeholders in order to create a database of the unemployed youth within the area.
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Youth from the Greater Eldorado Park and Soweto area joined hands and called on the government to intervene by making an impact in the fight against substance abuse and the factors which lead to it.
KEDI KeMoja coordinator, Paris Makaringe said that he remains committed to keeping in touch with the youth in attendance to see how they could work together to assist with alleviating the social ills plaguing the community.
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