To empower the youth of Ward 44, it will take knowledge, investment and passion.
These are the sentiments of a group of Heideveld residents who have started a community upliftment project aimed at upskilling unemployed youth from the area.
Focusing on construction-related trades, the Heideveld Skill Development Outreach Project was officially launched earlier this month.
One of the founders and chair of the organisation, Jeremy Petersen, has a background in construction.
“This is a first-of-its-kind project. There have been many others who have tried, but this is the first project done for Heideveld youth by residents of Heideveld,” says Petersen.
He says the participating youths (between the ages of 18 and 35) will be from the surrounding area, with hopes to expand the project even further to accommodate any youth in need of skills training.
He adds that participants will be trained with fully accredited courses and be ready for work when they leave the training programme.
Building, painting, welding, electrical and plumbing will be included in the training.
“We will go further than this, but we need more workspace to accommodate this. We have been given access to the Vanguard Community Hall by the councillor to do our training,” he says. “The participants will do their practicals at institutions, such as churches, old age homes and schools.”
Drug and alcohol abuse, and loitering, were the main motivators to starting this project.
“We mostly find the youth in our community on the corners, doing drugs and drinking alcohol because they have nothing going for themselves,” he says. “I spoke to some youths and they asked what else they must do (other than sit on street corners) as there is nothing for them to do.”
Vice-chair Mugidien Barnes says they want to create positivity in the communities of Heideveld.
“We have already identified Dagbreek Primary to benefit from the practical. We want to take this to other communities and schools because, as you know, schools struggle with funding, so they can also benefit,” says Barnes. “We want this to last for years and years to come.”
The programme was the brainchild of Petersen and the late Whaleed Heneke. Together they took it to Barns who has been involved in community work for many years.
“Together we would have made a hell of a good team, taking this project further,” Petersen says.
Petersen adds that the team behind the project strives to see this become a success.
The project will accommodate 30 learners per class. The training will take around three months to complete, including the practical component.
Currently KMH architects, Ahmedia Hardware and Bosch Power Tools, among others, are on board.
The project founders hope to also ensure that learners who have completed the training will also find jobs in the industry.
They are calling on funders and sponsors for their support to grow the project further.
