International Youth Day has been celebrated on 12 August since 2000, to bring forth the struggles and opportunities that youth face. For 22 years the importance of youth and the impact they make in their communities were set centre stage each August.
The UN declared that the 2022 theme is: “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages”. It is of utmost importance that all ages are considered when decisions about the youth are made. To ensure sustainable development, it is crucial to involve all generations and as a result curbing ageism.
Since 2017, the Gondwana Care Trust strives to improve the lives of Namibians. They realized that in order to make a lasting impact, they had to start making changes in the lives of Namibia’s youth.
The youth of Namibia faces many challenges, such as poverty, unemployment, food security, nutrition, and HIV-AIDS, just to name a few. The Covid-19 pandemic has also proven to be a major obstacle for the youth and their way forward.
In a 3rd world country with high levels of poverty, unemployment, and crime one can understand the feeling of utter hopelessness in a future of change and prosperity for Namibia. However, Namibians are not known to be a nation that gives up when it struggles, it is known to beat the odds and recover from almost any situation.
Namibian youth are encouraged to take an active part in social and governmental organizations to rebuild the social and economic state of the country. Together with this participation, it is of utmost importance that the youth be informed of their rights when making a decision about themselves and their future.
The Namibian Youth is extremely creative and forward-thinking when the time and effort is invested in listening and giving them the opportunity to voice their ideas and opinions.
Gondwana Collection Namibia and the Gondwana Care Trust believe in investing in the youth to ensure a better future for Namibia through projects like MealforTwo, supporting local entrepreneurs, and even the Back-To-School Christmas Bag Project.
The youth of Namibia is strong and can see opportunities in things that many would miss, therefore the entire Gondwana Team backs them in their endeavours and look forward to what the future holds.