Whilst many families have access to social grants and other poverty alleviation programmes, many of our households and communities remain trapped in poverty, are dependent on the state and thus unable to access the opportunities created by the positive economic climate.
Central to the task of social transformation is the role of the Government in confronting the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment. We must be the first to re-affirm our commitment to redress poverty and inequality. In August 2008, government launched the national War on Poverty Campaign to reduce poverty among the country’s poorest citizens.
And one of the key elements to graduate out of poverty or to improve your life is through education .Whilst the main aim of Balelapa is to facilitate household access to basic government amenities such as health; education water and electricity, what is heartening is to note that Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) have joined hands with the Northern Cape Government in addressing skills development among the youth, the view here that education and skills development is perhaps the most important economic opportunity the government can provide for young people. As the Department Social Development, we entered into partnerships with different SETAs for the training of 1 000 learners to carry out the survey.
We have put a great emphasis on the type of volunteer that we envisage at creating at the end of this particular program, furthermore we are making good today on our pledge as a People’s Government to never forget the good work done by our community volunteers, who have over many years participated in the construction of our democratic government.
The large majority of volunteers are young people, as at a general level the Northern Cape is indeed a youthful province, as youth constitute more than 71 percent of the entire Northern Cape populace. It therefore goes with requiring much complex reasoning, that the thrust of our People-Centered and People-Driven programs should be biased posture towards the development of our young people. How best than to allow the youth themselves to be the pioneers of their own advancement, given credence to the role-call, “that nothing for us, without us!”
The Department of Social Development entered into partnerships with four SETAs of which the Education Training and Development Practices (ETDP) SETA was a partner. The ETDP SETA provided funding for volunteers placed within the Pixley Ka Seme District.
To harness the energy of the youth, a developmental practice learnership programme pitched on a NQF Level 5 was secured via the ETDP SETA of which 139 learners were found Competent.
The curriculum covered subjects such as:
- Planning and preparation for development practices
- Theories and principles of development practices
- Entrepreneurship
- Research and development
- Program and learning material development.
The event will be held as forth:
Venue: De Aar Country, De Aar
Date: 8 November 2012
Time: 18h00
The media is invited to attend the graduation ceremony of the Pixley Ka Seme Balelapa Volunteers. Please confirm your attendance with:
Ms Lucretia Horne
Tel: 053 831 4041
E-mail: lhorne@ncpg.gov.za
