Youth urged to make wise choices in holiday
Young people were encouraged to choose between life, sickness or death at a pens-down event hosted at Samora Machel stadium last Thursday.
The event was organised by Mandla Development as pupils finished their exams.
The organisation said young people tend to think that they can do anything after exams, leading up to the December holidays, and some got involved in crime.
It encouraged them to make wise life choices.
Safe Space co-ordinator at Mandla Development Alicia Ludid said young people are faced with a lot of challenges so it was important that they bring them together to speak sense to them.
She said as an organisation they chose Samora Machel as youth in the area were involved in crime.
“We chose this area knowing well what happens here. Crimes that are happening here are appalling. The sad part is that they are caused by young people. We felt that after exams we could call them and talk to them. We therefore all need to take action to save lives and protect everyone,” she said.
Ms Ludidi advised young people to keep themselves busy this summer.
She said they could look for temporary jobs or use technology to empower themselves by doing online courses.
Her words were echoed by her colleague Zandile Myeki, a community support worker at Amandla Development.
She young people must take responsibility for their lives and must not be associated with criminals.
“We called stakeholders that we knew were helpful to the welfare of young people. The aim is to save them and not to force them to commit to things they would not want. But today we have health practitioners, we have experts in law, we have police, we have nurses and many other relevant stakeholders just for our young people. As Amandla we always give support to young people. There are also support groups that we have to help those who are in despair, distraught and disgruntled by many things,” she said.
Speaking during an event, Mzingisi Nake advised boys going for initiation to have health checks.
“It is dangerous to take a passage of manhood without testing because you might have HIV/Aids,” he warned.
Azola Sulwela, who admitted to be living with HIV because he had followed a poor lifestyle in his youth, also urged the youngsters to be wise and vigilant at all times.
He said it has been a culture that after writing the final exams, young people indulge in alcohol as part of the pens-down ritual. This leads to many poor decisions including having unprotected sex.
“This is a good initiative and a super programme that we are having today. We need to have a pens-down that is educational like this one. Young people need to be empowered at all times. They should know how to handle themselves during the festive season,” he advised.
He said if they listened to the speakers on the day, it would be possible for them to celebrate the holidays in a safe way.
The day-long event included entertainment and some exercises.
