As we commemorate the 1976 Soweto uprising, it is important to understand the realities faced by today’s youth. While progress has been made, pressing issues persist, echoing the question: Are these the aspirations that those who came before us fought for? Join us as we delve into these issues, shedding light on the ongoing struggle shaping the reality of South Africa’s youth.

What challenges are the youth experiencing?

Unemployment
The unemployment rate among young people in South Africa is alarmingly high. Many young people, especially in previously disadvantaged communities, struggle to find meaningful employment and face the harsh reality of poverty and limited opportunities.

Solution: Organisations like Siyabonga Africa offer young, unemployed youth an opportunity to upskill themselves by offering them training, development and support. These programmes provide an opportunity for the youth to gain valuable skills that they can use when seeking employment or looking into starting their own businesses.

Education
While access to education has improved over the years, the quality of education remains a concern. Schools in underprivileged areas often lack basic resources, qualified teachers, and proper infrastructure.

Solution: While traditional schooling will always be incredibly important, as access to the internet increases, so does the ability to access knowledge. Online tutors, courses and tutorials can help supplement the lack of traditional resources. As mentioned, Siyabonga Africa is an organisation that offers courses in areas like welding, early childhood development, baking and more. For our part, Scorpion Legal Protection hands out bursaries for studies in the legal field every year to a selection of our members’ children as a way of investing in the next generation, click here to find out more.

Substance abuse
Drug and alcohol abuse not only affects the physical and mental health of young people but also leads to a decline in their academic performance and personal relationships.

Solution: Scorpion Legal Protection has partnered with Famsa, and they offer help in areas like men stopping violence, trauma counselling, marital and divorce issues, stress management and more. These services are good prevention measures for substance abuse.

Crime and violence
Gang violence, in particular, poses a major threat to safety and security in many communities.

Solution: With the creation of life skills development programmes designed to help children and the youth manage anger, resolve conflict, and develop the necessary social skills to solve problems, we could see a significant reduction in social issues like crime and violence among our youth.

It’s clear that South African youth are faced with multiple challenges, many of which are deeply rooted in socio-economic challenges. However, by grappling with the problem head-on and making use of available remedies, they can create a brighter future for themselves than the ones they were born into.

Interested in joining Scorpion? Click here to find out more.

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*This is only basic legal advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing