Board of Trustees members
Member of Chrysalis Academy
Recipients of Certificates
Invited guests
Honoured guests
Thank you for the opportunity to address the receivers of certificates today.
In my capacity as chairperson of the Chrysalis Academy Board of Trustees I want to applaud the outstanding work that this institution renders to the people of the Western Cape, through developing our youth so that they can make positive contributions in their respective communities.
It is with great pride that I want to share a few words of encouragement to all 129 champions today as I am inspired by the motto of Chrysalis, unleashing potential! These 129 champions have succeeded, with the intervention and encouragement of Chrysalis to explore and find their potential.
Champions, many of you arrived here as youth at risk because life has thrown many obstacles in your way that at times threatened to derail you from making positive decisions in your lives. Many of you were forced to abandon your studies due to financial constraints; many of you were exposed to the scourge of drugs, gangsters, crime, absent parenting and a lack of positive role models.
This is the circumstances faced by many communities in the Western Cape and we acknowledge that this is not easy circumstances for our youth to grow up in, as it presents a vicious circle of crime and criminality. Adding to this the picture is the fact that the presence of positive role models for boys in our communities seems disheartening when:
- the biggest percentage of drug related offenders and criminals in the Western Cape is male
- of the 108 000 drug related cases in the country, nearly half are in the Western Cape
- hundreds of boys under the age of 18 are awaiting trial in Pollsmoor prison
- it is estimated that 150 000 people belong to 100 gangs on the Cape Flats (Mail and Guardian, 28 August 2007).
It is these circumstances that make boys and young men believe that they cannot be a lion or someone that society can take note of. It is these factors which hold the hearts of young lions captive and locked behind the iron bars of insecurity. But today I want to say VUKA Young lions, ARISE!
Formal education is one of the most important keys to unlock this cage. It is education that creates opportunities for our youth to become the best that they can possibly be. By successfully completing the 09 Bravo Course you acquired important workable knowledge and skills that you will need in the work place or in your further studies. But, the course also tested your commitment to learning, your sincerity to accommodate new things, to venture where your soul have not smelled the air of new fields of opportunities.
This, young men, is your heart, your spirit, the drive to bravely go where you have never before dared to go before. Many of you can attest to the fact that the moment you began to treat the obstacles in your lives as challenges and not just problems, was the moment that your burdens seemed to be lifted. This course is just one of the many challenges that you will have to face and complete to realise the God given potential waiting to be unleashed in each one of you.
You ARE achievers, men with strength. Young lions need to know that constantly, so that they will know that they are on the right track. Have you ever realised that it is much easier to believe the negative stuff about ourselves and so much more difficult to believe when someone tells you that you are brave, courageous, smart and handsome? Believe it, because all of you are all of those things.
Though your achievement here today are in writing (on a piece of paper), the story of your personal struggle, this adventure, is etched on the wall of your heart. Because it is here where the battles to succeed and shift the boundaries of your competencies as well as your direction takes place. By reaching this goal today you will be one of thousands ambassadors for this province. You are a youth with a mission. You are indeed champions, warriors, lions.
I am inspired by the stories of the 14th Century Scottish warrior writer, William Wallace, as portrayed in the movie Brave Heart, whose words, believe and actions, inspired an army of men to go into battle against the mighty English rather than sacrificing their ancestral land. Before their epic battle Wallace made a direct request to hearts of the fear struck Scottish. He gave them identity and a reason to go into battle. He ensured them that they are men enough (strong enough) for that battle.
Someone (Felicity Hartze, Personal Assistant to the chief executive officer of Chrysalis) from the Chrysalis Academy said that the calibre of students present here today are “of a high educational standard”.
This programme certainly tested your commitment and your perseverance. But the most important quality that was tested was your ability to change, but also your permission to be changed. During this course you acquired skills various skills in office administration, hairdressing, tourism, catering, basic welding and basic electrical.
The world is your oyster now and your achievements today will open opportunities to further your studies or participate in the community youth clubs of the Chrysalis Academy. But, being an ambassador (or a lion) bring responsibilities to give back to your respective communities (or the pride). Our communities need role models like you, resilient young men, that can be agents of change and that can assist in developing our communities.
Go out there, young lions, and roar.
I thank you
