As youth unemployment rises across the city, local organisations such as New Kwanda are trying to mitigate the strain by providing young job seekers with a six- month development programme intended to prepare them for the job market.
Founded in 2017, New Kwanda is a non-profit organisation based in the Pefferville area that services the youth, elderly and the vulnerable in the community.
The area is prey to social and economic challenges such as drug abuse and poverty.
Earlier this year, New Kwanda was approached by Small Projects Foundation (SPF) with a proposal for seed funding for a youth development project. This sparked a network of collaborations between New Kwanda, SPF and other roleplayers in the city, culminating in six months’ worth of theoretical and practical training in different employment sectors intended to develop young people into competent employees.
The programme has 224 participants enrolled and they are divided into groups stationed at schools, government departments, crèches and businesses across Buffalo City. The groups spend four hours a day, four days a week in these spaces.
In addition to their practical experience, the participants learn theoretical work taught by the SPF that entails four modules based on topics such as entrepreneurship and mental health, among others.
The participants have also been enrolled for computer literacy courses and have been trained to conduct eye tests.
Programme participant Zinnia Thannah said she had enjoyed the programme and felt fulfilled by the skills and experience they had been gaining.
She said as a result of the programme, the youth in her area had gained the respect of older people in the community and this had restored their confidence as young people.
She is particularly impressed by what she has learnt in the early childhood development sector, saying that in future she envisions pursuing a career in that direction.
According to another participant, Dalihunga Ceke, the programme enabled him to learn more about emergency medical services as the school he is stationed at for his practicals, Buffalo Flats Primary, entered him into an emergency response course which he passed with full marks.
Principal at Buffalo Flats Primary Raymond Lewis says he has been impressed with the commitment Ceke and other participants have shown.
Lewis said they arrived at the school diligently to serve their hours, and since they started the grounds have been well maintained and the school’s security and discipline have improved. The school hopes to work with more participants from the programme in future.
Ward councillor for ward 4, Lemarc Stewart, has also collaborated with New Kwanda by enrolling participants from the Cambridge location area and Garcia Flats into the programme and one participant, Vuyolwethu Makhonza, said this had enabled participants from this area to become self-sufficient as they earn a small stipend of R1,400.
Founders of New Kwanda, Mark Stewart and Nathan Miles said that as a result of the programme four participants had since been offered employment. They hope in future to see more students leave having secured a job.
