Content Partner: Activate! Leadership for Public Innovation

I am a young social entrepreneur committed to social change. I am enrolled in a course leading to a Project Management qualification through the University of the Witwatersrand. I am an external consultant for the World Economic Forum on Africa and Switzerland, a vice president of the Junior Chamber International Joburg (JCI) and the current chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Children Fund Youth Club.

South Africa, like many societies around the world, is still confronted with the complexity of developmental challenges. It is undeniable that various frameworks have been implemented with an intension to break down the barriers and to address many social pressing issues facing our communities .After graduating with a Certificate in Tourism, I went to work as a customer service agent at the OR Tambo International Airport. I was competent at my work, but it still did not fulfill my passion and intent which was to serve the world with love. After a year I decided to quit and volunteer within the National Youth Service Program. This took me him abroad and gave me an opportunity to be a global active citizen and to continue to make a difference in the lives of others.

For these reasons I developed a passion for community service and to be an inspiration to the next generation of leaders committed to social change. The reality is that young people are still marginalized in many crucial processes that affect their lives, even though they remain in the center of many social pressing issues. With vast opportunities in South Africa it is always heartening to see how the society treats its children and youth, thus we constantly need to reclaim the dignity of South African children.

Every day I walk through the streets of my neighborhood to witness many energetic and pragmatic minds go to waste by indulging in alcohol and drugs, being drawn to the life of crime, early child-bearing and most becoming the statistics of the scourge of an epidemic that has turn out to be a serious threat to the future of South Africa and the African continent. It is through such epidemics that I constantly look for solutions that will better advance the state of this society, and bit by bit develop and nurture others to be better active citizens through active involvement in social organizations.

My Activate experience has been amazing and full of new innovative learning. “If what you have does not fulfill your needs, then what you have is a seed.” Activate has been a seed that I plan to nurture as I grow within the developmental space. I have learnt to think globally and act locally in everything that I do.

I use the learning and principles in my company Ulwazi Resource Consulting, a company that focusses on a Career Resource Book and Virtual Resource that aims to assess, guide, and develop students, particularly matriculants on different career choices within the broader education and economic spectrum. Many matriculants after finishing school look for post matric education such as Diplomas, Degrees etc. Unfortunately this dream is almost impossible for some. This is due to lack of career knowledge, strengths and weaknesses and interests.

Many students do not know what to do after completing their matric studies. Some stay at home with good grades because they don’t know what to do at tertiary level. Others make wrong career choices because they do not understand their personal strengths and weaknesses. The career assessment resource book will bridge the gap between the matriculants and the career opportunities available for the matriculants to explore. The resource book offers an accurate and authentic assessment of an individual that can help identify the strengths, interests, and the support needed in making career choices.

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Activate! Leadership for Public Innovation is a national network of young people committed to social transformation. United across race and class, they will develop the perspectives and skills of innovation needed to tackle some of South Africa’s most challenging social issues.
To find out more, contact Activate! on: info@activateleadership.co.za or www.activateleadership.co.za