Sharielle believing in social mobilization for empowerment

Sharielle & Zoe Nkongolo,  Africa Unite

On March 11, for my job at Africa Unite, I planned and attended a youth dialogue in a secondary school in Kraaifontein, about the importance of voting. South Africa is facing a problem in which a lot of the young people are not voting. This reminds me of the United States, especially within the Black community. The most inspiring part of this dialogue was the youth. They eloquently voiced the problems within their community. At such a young age they showed that they could be promising leaders. I believe that a lot of students have the ability to be promising leaders, all they need is empowerment. A lot of potential, I believe, goes wasted because there is no one there to foster and encourage such potential. All the students need to know is that they have power and that what they have to say can help to change their community. Another great thing about this dialogue was that it provided somewhat of a support system for the youth. It showed the youth that they are not the only young people who care about their community. I know from personal experiences that sometimes people do not stand up for what they believe in because they think they will be looked at differently by their peers. This dialogue served to show the students that if they ever wanted to get working in their community, there are other like-minded people as well who would be willing to help.

I hope that I will be able to hold these dialogues within my community. I can fully understand why people do not vote. For years in the United States, we as Black people and minorities have been promised a change and for years nothing has happened. We have had to sit back and watch our communities get worse, our young men die and our women struggle to raise their children. For me, I believe in a community approach to these problems. I believe in a social mobilization that will empower people to see themselves as having something to contribute to their community. Hopefully when we do this our plight will be taken seriously and we can say that we helped to change our community.