A wise man once said: “If everyone sweeps the front of his gate, the whole street will be clean.”

To all the youth of SA preparing to commemorate Youth Day, I know that plans to put on school uniforms, gather and drink alcohol are already underway.

Celebrating Youth Day doesn’t mean getting wasted and partying all night. It simply means celebrating our youthfulness through embarking on journeys that are meant to build and not destroy us.

We celebrate Youth Day to honour the struggle heroes of 1976 who sacrificed their lives for us to have the freedom we are enjoying today. As opposed to the youth of 1976, our struggle is not poor education but social challenges such as unemployment, child and human trafficking, child abuse, HIV/Aids, gender-based violence and femicide, depression and substance abuse.

The million-dollar question is: what are we doing as the youth of today to deal with these societal challenges? As a youth myself, I know some of us have resorted to crime, laziness and hopelessness as a way of wiping the tears of our own failure.

I know some of us have given up on uplifting our lives because we have tertiary qualifications yet can’t get jobs. I know some of us have resorted to alcohol and drug abuse just to temporarily shy away from the real problems that are confronting us. Let me say to you, child of the soil, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Let us not give up on ourselves for we owe it to ourselves to better our lives. Let us be creative and come up with ideas that will help shape our lives and steer us to our preferred destinations. If we do nothing, we run the risk of becoming nothing. Let us celebrate this month with optimism and a positive attitude.

Malphia Honwane

Gottenburg eManyeleti