Challenges Facing Our Youth

Compared to the times in which their parents and grandparents lived, the challenges facing our youth have become far more difficult to overcome. There are no jobs or very few waiting for our young job seekers after their education. There was a time when one could practically pick your job.

These challenges will increase as time goes on and range from personal to global. Some of the challenges facing our young people from as early as their teens, includes that of negative peer pressure that leads to drugs and alcoholism, lack of direction and making wrong choices. Many of our youth lack wise adult (parent) guidance, supervision, leadership and provision. The negative impact on the lives of our children destroys many young lives long before they become adults and discover their God-given potential and purpose.

We need to encourage our young people to be independent thinkers and entrepreneurs able to think creatively and to be innovative. We need to infuse them with a strong belief in themselves and their ability to become whatever they dream of doing or becoming. We need to lead our youth to shift their mindset to that of becoming job creators rather than settling on becoming job seekers.

Our youth has the power to shape the society that they want. We need their will, their labour, their hearts, if we are to build that kind of society in which all could have a future and a hope. The needs across South Africa are huge and challenging. We need to develop power bases within strong communities to play a leadership role that builds bridges of goodwill, understanding and support between all our people if we are to have a nation that we can all be proud of. The quality of their leadership and what they achieve will depend significantly on how we guide them to fulfill their destiny. As businessmen and women and members of the general public, we have a huge role to play in their success while at the same time securing the success of the communities in which we live and run our businesses. At BBN we are determined to help bridge that gap but it will take us all working together.

“The ultimate measure of a man or woman is not where he or she stands in moments of comfort, but where he or she stands at times of challenge and controversy.” — Martin Luther King, Jnr.