The Value Of Education For Young South Africans by Vuyolwethu Mbatyoti

Today's article was written by our new volunteer Vuyolwethu Mbatyoti. It is her first article for the magazine. Vuyo does not have permanent access to the Internet. Every time she wants to contact us she has to go to an internet cafe. She tried three times to send this article through to us! We value her effort to write for us under "not so easy conditions". 

She has started he article with a sentence once spoken by Kofi Annan.

“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rests the corner stone of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development”. 
Kofi Annan

One Of Campuses Of The University of South Africa in Southernwood East London

Gone are the days of being labeled as Black, White and Coloured, we are no longer separated by the color of our skin, we are all disadvantaged and most of all we have the same dreams and goals to improve our lives. We are no longer alone, foreigners also want the same opportunities and we are aiming for the same goals. We cannot hide behind excuses anymore and its time we put an emphasis on the value of education.

We live in a society where there is a high level of unemployment, inequality and we are faced with poverty. Not only are we faced with the challenge of uneducated youth but we are faced with increasing number of unemployed graduates. Can we confidently say education is still a solution to a better life?

Are We All Having The Same Dreams?  And Is Education Still Perceived As A Means To Improve Our Lifes By Young South Africans? 

According to Jay Naidoo “education is most powerful tool against poverty and injustice. Through education dreams become reality, the gap between the rich and the poor can be closed and most importantly education certainly improves the living standard of people. Education gives us opportunities to unlock our greatest potential, choose the career path that suits our personalities and helps us become who we want to be. With education we are able to empower and develop ourselves and we are able to provide for our families."

Education Helping Us To Develop Ourselves And Providing For Families? Street Scene in Southernwood

Street Scene in Southernwood East London

Education guarantees us a better tomorrow.

Education A Tool For A Better Tomorrow? Street Children begging at a traffic light in Berea in East London

It is a tool to fight against poverty and injustice, a solution for sustainable human development and most importantly a better foundation for freedom. Education is a tool to encourage and empower young people to do things for themselves and make a difference in the world. However the youth in our communities seem to care less about education. For example very often we come across young people who lack a sense of direction and vision of who they want to be. Education seems to be the least of their worries or should I say the last thing on their minds, even those who are already in Universities seem to enjoy the life of being in the university than what they came for that is education.

100% Pain Free And The Same Day

Pain Sometimes Is Not Immediate, But Comes Later. Abortion is a service in great demand with the high number of teen pregnancies in South Africa

We have many opportunities at our disposal and it is important that we make the most of what we have. The government is doing so much to improve our education, for example we have youth advisory centers across the province that provides necessary skills, career advice for young people and unlimited access to the Internet free. These youth centers provide necessary information and knowledge to lead young people to the right direction.

What Is The Right Direction? And How Will You Get There As A Young South African

We don’t have any excuse not to use these services to develop and empower ourselves. To those who believe in the value of the education like myself should continue to do so and our success stories can encourage and empower others to do things for themselves.

Success StoriesCan Empower Others To Do Things For Themselves

Article written by Vuyolwethu Mbatyoti, Images by The Mdantsane Way Magazine

Introducing Vuyolwethu Mbatyoti - Volunteering For The Mdantsane Way Magazine

Vuyolwethu Mbatyoti

During the last two months we have received more than 20 applications from young South Africans for an internship with the Mdantsane Way Magazine. We do not have a budget for this at the moment - not yet - but we are working on it and we are sure, that we will have one in the future. One of our objectives is to serve as an incubator in the field of journalism, photography and public relations for young graduates, that come from Mdantsane. We are positive that other companies and organizations will support us in the future with funding.

Remarkable is, that more than 90% of the applicants are willing to work with us and to contribute to the Magazine without getting paid. We are delighted about the fact, that people want to work with us for free to get working experience. But this is not the entire motivation behind the applications we have received. The driving force is, that the people who have applied with us are passionate about Mdantsane and there is the desire to give back to their community. And there are more stories to tell.

Chocolat, the editor started meeting with the applicants during the month of November and the first volunteer we would like to introduce is Vuyolwethu Mbatyoti. 

Meet Vuyo, a great deal of passion

Vuyo wrote to us:

"My name is Vuyolwethu Mbatyoti and am currently doing my Honours in Social Science and I have a degree in Applied Commnication Management from the University of Fort Hare and I am INTERESTED (please note interested written in capital letters) in your magazine and would like to contribute towards its development, not only for the magazine but for the community of Mdantsane at  large. What can I do to be part of your magazine?"

We asked her in turn how she thought she could contribute? She wrote us a a well elaborated one and a half page letter with ideas and suggestions. Perseverance does it. After a three hour conversation ( the intention was 30 min) over one Cafe Latte it became clear that her great passion is the value of education in South Africa.  

Vuyo is 21 years of age, ambitious. and hardworking. She lives in NU 3 in Mdantsane and has a twin sister as well as a younger sister.  It has not been easy for her and sometimes things were really tight in the family. What pulled her through was the love she experienced in the family.

"But look at me now, she says, today the lack of means is no excuse to not study and get an education in South Africa. There is NSFAS and there are other student loans. I studied on NSFAS. The government is doing so much for us as students."

Look At me Now!

  

She is however concerned about the high drop out rate at schools and universities at present in South Africa.

"Our parents have fought, so that we can have education and now the youth is not really interested anymore. It's all about clubbing, spending money and having fun, she says."

I know, that what I am today I will not be tomorrow. I will be better

"I know, that what I am today I will not be tomorrow. I will be better and I will find a job, earn a decent salary and be a role model for others".

The interesting thing about Vuyo is, that she has ideas of her own and tries to find ways to turn them into something

She is unique, but at the same time she is also representative of a large segment of the South African society. The graduates, that leave the universities by thousands facing now the harsh reality of finding employment. Her life and her experiences will tell us more about what it means to be a young South African in an ever changing and challenging social and economic environment.

Vuyo will write about education and we are looking forward to her stories.

So Vuyo, after having introduced you thoroughly today to our readers, we hope that you feel the pressure now (yes that was our intention) so that you can perform at your best and give us your best stories!