SA Youth: Life in the Doldrums

There is no denying that South Africa’s high unemployment rate has a very negative effect on the youth. The worst part of the problem is that very few people in leadership seem bothered enough about trying to solve this problem.

Yes, we have multitudes of youth organisations. And, yes, the overwhelming majority of them have underpinnings that usher the interest of the youth. The biggest problem is that we are not seeing any results. This suggests that these organisations are seriously ineffective as they are.

For instance there is currently no obvious place that a motivated young person can go to and ask for help. Umsobomvu used to be a well-known, but obscure place filled with draconian requirements that ended up causing more problems instead of solving them.

In a recent debate between leaders of youth organisations including the YDA I was encouraged to hear that the powers that be understand the problems. Unfortunately there seems to be a serious shortage of solutions.

Another highlighted hurdle was the fact that while women, children and the disabled are protected by the country’s legislative framework, the youth is not. The youth is not even considered as a societal grouping by our government. Could a change in legislation improve the odds of the youth?

African States: We Become Arrogant Too Soon

Ever wondered why all the once “promising” African states have ended up either failing or settling at a very low plateau.

Personally I think that African leaders become arrogant and consequently complacent too soon. A country would win its independence, which brings with it a lot of hope and positive coverage and standing from the rest of the world. This boosts confidence and motivates our leaders to work very hard.

However as years go by we face a number of problems. We suddenly realize that our late start probably makes it that much more difficult for us to achieve quick success. We are faced with issues that most of the developed world does not face today, such as lack of infrastructure, poverty, uncontrollable crime, unemployment, land etc. As a result we encounter difficulty after difficulty, and consequently (and inevitably) a succession of failures.

At some point we break out of this chain of failures and score one rare success. We celebrate like lunatics. The world congratulates us for our success. In our minds we become world beaters. Arrogance seeps in. We forget about the fact that we have only achieved one victory out of a thousand more challenges that we still need to face. Our rare victory and premature sense of achievement lead to us losing our sober minds. We become complacent.

We lose the sense of urgency. We focus on this one rare victory. Nobody loves negative stories. All the challenges and failures that remain are forced out of the priority hierarchy, and soon become do-later activities. After all we need to celebrate. We have arrived to the league of the big boys.

This premature sense of victory has always been a big problem with African states. The arrogance that goes with it is unbelievable. We become complacent and ultimately die young as a nation.

(Do you agree with my sentiments? Add your comments)

The Beginning is a Means to the End

I recently went through a book by one of my all time role models, Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin group. “Screw it, Let’s do it”, it says, an attitude that propelled Branson from selling school magazines to building space ships and flying millions of passengers across the globe.

His attitude has helped me realise why I haven’t achieved many of my dreams so far. I have always hesitated with the “do it” part, perhaps in response to the fear of failure. However failing to act is synonymous to acting to fail, I have learnt, because the end result is always failure (regardless). This made me realise that every time I hesitate to start acting on my ideas I am actually beginning the series of negative actions that will cause my ideas to fail (or to never materialize).

It has become clear to me that no matter how afraid I am of the unknown, the fear cannot be an excuse for my inaction. The beginning is the first step towards the end. Without the beginning the end cannot be reached.

We are on our own as the young brigade (of South Africa) today. The odds are firmly against us. We cannot, therefore, afford to sit and do nothing because nobody is willing do it for us. We have brilliant ideas. Screw it, let’s do it!! Let us not let the challenges discourage our determination. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the Chinese say. That first step needs to be taken.

Be not afraid to start because starting is means to the end. Be not afraid to fail. The Wright brothers attempted to fly but failed (and crashed) over thousands of time. They never stopped trying until their machine flew one day. Let us adopt that kind of resilience and refuse to be put down by minor setbacks. Let us take our destinies onto our own hands.