BY: SINETHEMBA ZONDI
The Indoni SA organisation launched a skills development program aimed at empowering young people to uplift themselves. This initiative was announced by its Chairperson, Nomcebo Mthembu, during a major event, the Inkehli Youth Festival in Vlakfontein, Johannesburg South.
On that day, diverse young people from different cultures came together to engage in various sports that were once played. Among the games played were soccer, volleyball, and others.
Participants also competed in drama, cultural dances and music, with the Izimbali team emerging victorious. Mthembu expressed the importance of providing young people with skills to enable them to use their talents to benefit themselves.
She emphasised the need for collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure that new skills are taught in the right way. She noted that the skills of young people differ and they will be catered to accordingly.
However, they will all be encouraged to excel. She highlighted music, baking, and sewing as potential areas of focus, stating that there will be a school for collaborative efforts with other institutions, but not at present.
“It is true that job opportunities are currently very limited. Therefore, our young people must be encouraged to use their skills to feed their families,” she said.
She said that once young people have been skilled, they should be taught how to enter the business world. If you are a newcomer, you must know how to use your skill to operate a business,” she said.
Young people expressed gratitude for the collaborative work with Indoni, as it broadened their horizons. Olwethu Mabuya (14) said they learned a lot by being part of Indoni. They were told to be proud of their heritage and were given information on how to better their lives.
The local counsellor, Sthembiso Zungu, expressed satisfaction that Indoni had taken the initiative to improve the lives of young people from various countries. ” It warms my heart to see young people in this place being skilled and encouraged to play sports that were once their heritage,” he said