A sturdy fight against youth unemployment. Radzilani Wisdom’s story of influence.

By: N.S.D

2019 Activator, Radzilani Wisdom, from Tshedza Vhulaudzi village in Limpopo saw the need to start the You are a Star initiative as an attempt to tackle the challenges faced by young people when it comes to speaking and writing English. This is an after school, youth program that runs a spelling BEE program in order to create a solid foundation in the spelling abilities of learners, and to expand their vocabulary. Wisdom believes in tackling the issue of unemployment from the root. He says that if the learners have a good vocabulary, they will be have better chances of getting employment later on in life.

“I have decided to bring up this plan form because I have a vision to help decrease youth unemployment rates in our communities and country,” says Wisdom. He believes that a lot of unemployed young people are roaming the streets because they lack the skills they need to secure jobs or to start their own businesses. Being from a rural area himself, he noticed that one of the major challenges that is faced by young people from rural areas is that they grow up in poverty. This makes it very difficult for them to further their studies or to secure enough capital in order to start their own businesses. This is where his program, You are a Star, comes in. In partnership with Save the Children South Africa (SCSA), You are a Star runs workshops in the community to empower and develop these young people who so badly need to be empowered.

Wisdom hopes that this initiative will assist young people in their quest to confront whatever obstacles that threaten to prevent them from achieving their goals. He hopes that this will also take the youth away from the streets and the temptations that come with roaming the streets. He hopes that these young people will eventually be equipped with the necessary skills that are needed for them to shine. So far, You are a Star, has managed to empower a few young people with skills that allow them to be job creators themselves. Those who are still in school, have seen a rapid improvement in their academics.

Wisdom believes strongly in the power of partnerships. He says that he finds great joy in the partnerships that was made with SCSA, “the youth affiliated with the organization has benefited a lot from platforms that were created for young people to discuss their issues and finding solution to those issues,” says Wisdom. If any Activators wish to partner with You are a Star, they can help by either donating more English books or coming in to facilitate the spelling BEE.

The youth of Vhulaudzi community, Nzhelele central and west circuit’s leaners have benefited a lot from this initiative that started on 15 August 2020, and hopes to continue to empower more young people throughout the years. Wisdom says that “in future, the main goal of these competitions is to help improve the learners’ ability to speak English and their ability to spell the words correctly, while building the learners’ confidence and self-esteem.” You are a Star encourages the youth to volunteer within the organisation. This help prevent them from roaming the streets, but also keeps them grounded in the positive atmosphere that is created by the organisation.

In the times that we live in, with Covid-19 having created a lot of job losses, where a lot of young people have lost their moral and drive to keep pushing, the You are a Star initiative is a much needed intervention. South Africa and the youth of Vhulaudzi and Nzhelele will benefit a lot from You are a Star and Save the Children South Africa.

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