Community initiatives aiding youth empowerment

While youth across the country commemorated Youth Day, the future of today's youth remains bleak, as unemployment is at an all-time high. 

On Monday June 16, South Africa commemorated the 49th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, a significant moment in the nation's history where thousands of black students protested the imposition of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools

According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q1 2025, youth unemployment went from 151 000 to 4.8 million, while the number of employed youth went from 153 000 to 5.7 million. 

The Tatler spoke to various organisations in the southern suburbs, who have stepped in to bridge the gap for the youth in terms of skills development, employment and youth upliftment.

The Amy Foundation was established in 1998 in memory of American student Amy Biehl, who lost her life in the fight for democracy in South Africa.  Today, they honour her legacy by offering programmes that empower and uplift youth living in challenged and vulnerable communities across Cape Town. 

Michelle Bagley, chief operations officer of the Sybrand Park based foundation said their After School Programme, supports pupils aged six to 18 with arts, culture, sport, and academic support, while their Youth Skills Development Programme for NEET youth (Not in Employment, Education or Training), aged 18 to 35 years provides skills training in sewing, beauty and wellness, hospitality and technical skills, work readiness, entrepreneurship development, and placement opportunities.

"Our work spans several communities, including Gugulethu, Nyanga, Philippi, Khayelitsha, Delft, Langa and Bonteheuwel. These are areas where opportunities are scarce, but potential is abundant," she said. 

Ms Bagley said greater collaboration was needed between civil society, government, and business to address youth unemployment. 

"Sadly, we have seen youth unemployment remain incredibly high, and in many ways, it feels as though it is worsening. Young people are desperate for opportunities, but the system is simply not set up to absorb them fast enough. That said, we do believe that programmes like ours – when properly supported – do make a difference. Every year, we see lives changed. But the scale of the problem requires far greater collaboration," she said. 

The foundation hosted a Youth Day showcase in Gugulethu, celebrating the talent, strength, and spirit of the youth through performance and storytelling. Her message to the youth: " Keep showing up for yourself. We believe in you. You are powerful beyond measure. Your circumstances do not define you."

The Salt River-based Lighthouse Orphanage aims to protect youth and parents from unsafe living conditions and provide advocacy work for the youth and parents to know their rights. Founder, Shariefa Job, has been running her non-profit for more than five years but has been working in the community for more than 20 years.

“When women have gone through abuse, we provide support to find out if they have filed the necessary police documents like the protection order,” she said.

Though apart from helping abused women, she provides support to orphanages in Macassar, Vahalla Park and Delft by providing clothing and food. She receives support from a few corporations and private donors. For the past few years, Ms Job has organised safety programmes at various schools such as Dryden Street Primary School, Salt River and Queens Park High Schools, where the youth are taught their rights. 

“We try to teach the children about improving social behaviours, to be able to speak up if they feel like they are in trouble. I try to build a bond of trust between myself and the children,” she said. 

Pinelands-based MOT (meaning courage) started in Norway 26 years ago and was introduced to South Africa in 2006 to address the school drop-out rate, lack of discipline, bullying and substance abuse, as well as to ensure holistic development. 

MOT works to nurture robust and resilient people with a special focus on youth by providing them with tools to strengthen their leadership and courage. Through the MOT programmes, youth aged between 12 and 35 learn how to make good life choices, develop their full potential and become leaders and positive role models in their communities.

"Our work is rooted in instilling core values and promoting leadership, dignity, self-awareness, communication, and resilience to help build a generation of conscious, responsible, and active citizens," said the organisation's office, marketing and executive support Jacqueline Carolus.

MOT provides the following programmes,  for high school pupils, aimed at strengthening values, self-esteem, and leadership, its Youth Programme – focuses on post-school youth and young adults, including college students, equipping them with courage, self-awareness, and the ability to make conscious life choices and its Corporate Programme – where MOT’s values-based approach is applied in the workplace to support employee soft skills development, morale, and ethical decision-making.

MOT SA country director, Viola Manuel, said they were concerned by the fact that the number of employed youth had decreased, according to the latest statistics by Statistics South Africa. 

"One of the biggest reasons is that many of our youth have lost hope. They don’t believe in themselves anymore or feel motivated to keep trying. Another issue is that we’re still pushing young people to register for courses where there’s little to no demand for those skills. Meanwhile, there’s a huge demand in fields like engineering, project management and other critical skills. We need to find better ways to guide our young people when it comes to making career choices — helping them choose study paths that actually increase their chances of finding employment," she said. 

Shetarah Southgate, who is part of MOT's programme, said they had played a big role in her personal growth and helped her discover her voice.

"But the reality we face as young people is tough—you study hard, you try to do the right things, and yet you’re met with job ads asking for years of experience you haven’t had the chance to gain. It’s discouraging," she said. 

Chanel Joseph, outreach manager for Cape Town Museum of Childhood (CTMoC) said they had seen the importance of youth in the country because they are future leaders. 

The Rondebosch-based CTMoC is a non-profit that falls under the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD). They provide a safe space for children to explore the museum, where they have a toy room, they have archives of various child-related news articles, an activity room where children can play with toys, and they even do outreach work to ECDs in the outer regions. Ms Joseph said even though they help the younger children, they still continue to help teenagers with various programmes to upskill and develop them. 

“For over five years, we helped to assist over 60 youth with the Edusnap programme, we worked with a photographic company to assist youth in taking expert pictures with their smartphone,” she said.

Ms Joseph said last year their organisation also teamed up with a videographer to help high school pupils from Vootrekker High, Heideveld Secondary and Vista Nova High School prepare two-minute documentaries that were exhibited last November.