Activators celebrating democracy through community building

Sandile Tsie Activator 2012 Gauteng

“Democracy means everyone deserves a better chance to improve their lives regardless of where they come from or their age” 

“In the past young people were never given a chance to show their leadership skills or be part of decision making at their schools but now all that has changed under the new South Africa. Learners are now part of the SGB and get to say what they think will work for them or what they need as young future leaders and that’s where my project Nthethe consulting services comes in. The projects encourage young people to exercise their rights as they work under the RCL (Representative council of learners).

Since we would be celebrating 23 years of freedom this month we will be working on a new programme which will include RCL members of all the private schools in our township so that we can discuss social cohesion and better education for both government schools and private schools”

Tambo Mohapi Activator 2016 Free State

“In this democratic country water is still an issue even thou it’s a basic human need”

“Well with freedom day coming up, I really don’t see anything that I can say we are free about because in my area there is still a huge gap between white people and black people. We know certain spaces are for certain people. The only thing great about democracy is that young people can now tap into business previously reserved for white people.

The project that I am currently busy is purified water. Seeing that our province has a problem with providing purified water I saw the opportunity to create jobs for young people by offering people purified water. This has helped because our municipality provides people with salty water so it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

Gift Methule Activator 2014 Mpumalanga

“Democracy means every citizen has the responsibility to protect children from the abusers and become whistle blowers of child abuse.” 

“It has been 23 years since our country has become a democratic country. It is with sadness that the powerless and vulnerable human beings in our societies still live in fear and pain. My project helps the victims of abuse with counselling and a boot camp that is filled with lots of activities that will help them heal.

Since we as a country are celebrating 23 years of freedom this month, we should also not forget those children who don’t know what freedom is due to abuse, as for me I would be spending my freedom month at Tekatakho drop-in centre helping the children of the centre to experience freedom.”

Kabelo Manamela Activator 2016 Gauteng

“Democracy came with prisoners being given a second chance to learn from their mistakes and to become part of the community they once belong to”

“In the past prisoners were given death sentences and never given a chance to apologise to their victims and go back to their communities. I’m currently running a project called Bua Motsha which is about giving gangsters a chance to apologise to their victims and welcoming them back to society. Freedom came with a chance for criminals to learn from their mistakes and be rehabilitated, while in the past it was all about death sentences.

 On this freedom month I would be spending time with a former gangster leader and other former gang members to talk about how we can make the democracy work for young people without being involved in crime.”

Scelo Mbonani Activator 2015 Gauteng

“Democracy is about equality and having your voice heard with no fear”

“Well they call this month freedom month yet I don’t see any freedom. We might be living in a democratic world but not everyone knows what democracy is or what it feels like and to tell you the truth our country is not yet a democratic country, we still have a long way to go. Our government introduced all those agencies that fund small businesses but they did not train people on how to sustain their businesses while white people grew up knowing these things and had all the support to start and maintain their businesses. Until wealth is equal among us I cant say we are free.

I am currently helping township businesses under the organisation called Township Entrepreneurs’ Network (TEN). This organisation is about helping small business owners from the township to sustain and grow their businesses and get investors.”

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