Things are looking up for young people in Mbekweni and Klapmuts outside Paarl in the Western Cape following a number of initiatives carried out by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) during June and July after a visit to the area in May by the Minister of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane.
On Friday, 20 July 2012, Deputy Minister Obed Bapela will be making follow up visits to the area to assess the progress that has been made in providing development programmes and assistance for youth in the area.
In tandem with the visit, the NYDA will be running a job-finding skills workshop at a school next to the sports centre in Mbekweni as part of its mission to upgrade opportunities for local youth. Information desks have also been set up at the sports centre to promote the NYDA’s services and a mobile outreach vehicle has been deployed from Johannesburg to cover the Klapmuts and Mbekweni communities from 17-21 July 2012.
Significantly, the NYDA has held discussions with NGOs in Klapmuts and Mbekweni to find ways in which to improve prospects for youth in this part of the Western Cape.
“Our intentions as the NYDA is to ensure that when we leave this area, that longer term solutions will evolve to ensure that there is further growth and development in the best interests of youth in Klapmuts & Mbekwini,” said Steven Ngubeni, NYDA Chief Executive Officer.
Importantly, since Minister Chabane’s last visit to the area, the NYDA has been involved in a number of interventions and activities aimed at enhancing the lot of local youth members.
During June, the NYDA held an information session at the Mbekweni Thusong Centre that attracted 40 participants. It also held another information session focused on the “Proud to Serve National Youth Service (NYS) Clean Up Campaign” which attracted 180 participants. Discussions were also held with “Be Part”, an NGO working in the field of HIV research, located in Mbekweni.
In July, the NYDA has run a career guidance programme assisted by ten student volunteers with a follow-up session planned for August to discuss bursary applications. It has also held discussions with World Vision to assist in the rollout of NYDA services in the area, particularly with regard to economic development and soup kitchens.
Further activities involved an information session regarding NYDA, programmes, products and services offerings at the Mbekweni Thusong Service Centre, attracting 90 attendees. Discussions with the Western Cape department of Higher Education and Training to arrange bursary support for needy students to pursue studies at the Boland FET College during 2013 was also one of the critical needs that were focused on.
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