Alex youth urged to safeguard property
30 June 2016
The street alongside AlexSan Kopanong Community Centre in Alexandra – completely blocked to traffic – was bustling with activity on Friday June 24 as the City of Johannesburg’s Region E hosted an open day and youth dialogue session.
The event formed part of the City’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the June 16 1976 student uprising.
Exhibition stands of the City’s various entities and departments, as well as of a number of private sector companies, lined the street. Staff manning the stands distributed information leaflets about youth opportunities available in City entities and departments as well as in private sector companies. They also fielded questions from the hordes of young people who visited their stands.
One of the companies exhibiting at the open day was Harambee, which has been tasked by the City to run the Vulindlel’ eJozi youth empowerment programme. Inside the hall, veterans of the 1976 student uprising engaged in a dialogue with high school learners on various topics, including challenges facing today’s youth.
Bishop Molefe Boshoma recalled how, as a young man of the cloth, he was among the clergy who presided over the burial of 19 of the 23 people killed in Alexandra after the riots broke out there on June 18 1976.
“It seems like today we’re in the wilderness after Nelson Mandela and his comrades led us out of apartheid. Some youths today seem to think they should destroy things when they are protesting. But this is wrong because what is being destroyed now belongs to us. We’re no longer in the land of the oppressor.”
Boshoma added that the youth should value education so they could have a place in the sun.
“The youth must get educated and help deal with social problems in our community.”
For Kaizer Kubheka of the Alexandra Development Forum, the aim of the gathering was to open a conversation with the youth.
“The role of the youth should be to raise issues affecting them and discuss solutions to them. We must build social cohesion to address problems of drug and alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancy,” he said.
Grade 12 learner Dipuo Kekana said the youth of 1976 had helped to make today’s opportunities possible.
“It is up to us as the youth to pursue education so we can access jobs and business opportunities at our disposal,” she said.
The City's Health Department used the opportunity to provide free tests for high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases and conditions. Jacob Moloi, 56, was beaming after checking his blood pressure.
“Now I will look after my health and try and not to stress much seeing that my blood pressure is normal,” he said.