The young people of South Africa face several challenges. It is a popular assumption that today's young people are unmotivated, lazy, and engaging in disruptive activities. This impression stems from a number of factors, including poverty, limited funding for schools, high dropout rates, drug, and alcohol abuse, gangsterism, and health concerns.
Young people, particularly those living in rural communities, are vulnerable and are receiving inadequate attention. We need to create solutions to offer young people a fighting chance to develop into contributing adults.
The ABCD Method
For the Co-Op Community Trust, Asset-based community development is a mantra for success
because it encourages young people to see their abilities as assets and use all of society's other resources to turn their ideas into new goods, concepts, and enterprises. The next generation must have their spirits lifted, be made to feel that they have access to abundant resources and be trained to become the human capital the country requires. Similarly, younger students must be inspired to think creatively and build their professional lives with responsibility and perseverance to be regarded as contributors.
President Kanayo Nwanze of the International Fund for Agricultural Development made these comments in his 2011 report to the Governing Council:
Youth in rural areas are the industry's future farmers, producers, and workers. The youth of today have the potential to become the adults of tomorrow, community leaders, and respected members of society, if you provide them with the tools, they need to start businesses and farms with confidence and competence.
GF4GF Centres
In Somerset-East in the Eastern Cape, GF4GF Centres are making efforts toward this goal as a long-term and sustainable solution, through the employment of an unorthodox strategy that brings together the agricultural sector and the next generation of outstanding community leaders.
GF4GF Centres' dedication to their young people extends beyond the realm of skills development but also focuses on developing the person behind the skill. High-intensive training is done for 1 year with a select group of young people after they have completed matric or tertiary education (this is the Goodyear project).
GF4GF centers can be found in rural areas where agriculture plays a key role, and many of the centers run their agricultural projects.
By raising young leaders in rural agricultural communities, young commercial farmers and leaders who help farms and the community are being raised. A new generation of leaders with the ability to revolutionize every part of society. This is a very important part of South Africa's long-term success as a country.
For more information on the GF4GF centres please visit: https://gf4gfcentres.co.za/ or follow their page on Facebook.