Youth Development: Affordable and Well Prepared Meals Just Not Enough

It is always a sad indictment for a society and educational institutions alike, when most of what they can offer to counter sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) amongst youths is an affordable and well prepared meal. It was with great distress that I read an article in this morning's Herald regarding an upsurge in student STIs at one of the institutions of higher education in Zimbabwe.

In response to questions regarding steps the university is taking in addressing the upsurge in STIs, Mr Musekiwa Tapera, director of marketing and public relations said, "The University was providing affordable and well-prepared meals to discourage students from seeking recourse to sugar daddies and mummies."

Undoubtedly students need an affordable and well prepared meal in order to see them through those grueling days of study, after all some us are were students recently and others still are, hence we can relate to what Mr Tapera said.

For the record,CIYDA commends the university in going some way in providing a nutritious and affordable meal for the students. However that in itself is not enough to see to it that students stay focused and do not engage in unproductive and self destructive extra-curricular activities.

In a previous post on this Blog CIYDA pointed out a few measures that governments can take in tackling idleness amongst youths by giving them an alternative that is paramount to their self-development. Amongst some of the suggestions were, engaging in business enterprise competitions with awards to viable projects as well as cost-paid voluntary activities within the community. The former gives youths an opportunity to explore their potential in different areas, after all, the sky is not the limit but one's scope is the limit. The latter will see youths putting their spare time into activities that enrich them socially while also gaining skills useful to them at a later stage in their lives as well as for employment. CIYDA understands that such initiatives don't happen overnight and will take a concerted effort from governments, educational institutions and NGO's alike.

In exoneration for Mr Tapera and the institution in question they have initiated other remote intervention initiatives such as STI workshops and most strikingly scholarships for students, although not known in what capacity.

In its current draft for 2010 youth engagement strategies and furthering its advocacy work for youth development, CIYDA is looking not only to have greater visibility in universities around Zimbabwe but also a greater impact. CIYDA will work to establish points of contact through its regional delegates that will work with youths in universities to promote productive projects such as business enterprise, volunteering and social and cultural activities. This is in conjunction with CIYDA's respective departments, namely, Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Youth Mentorship and Youth Volunteering.

Although far from being the remedy to increasing cases of STIs amongst youths, CIYDA is confident this will go a long way in keeping youths busy and involved in things that they not only enjoy but those that are central to their general development.

In an effort to realise maximum positive returns from this institution initiative, CIYDA will continue to listen and work with corporate and governmental organisations that share in our plight of youth development and want to contribute their resources. After all, a healthy and well-rounded youth populace will in the long run prove invaluable to both entities.

Disclaimer: - Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein from other websites, CIYDA cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions transferred from other websites and expressed herein are those of the author of the ORIGINAL article and do not necessarily represent the views of CIYDA, CIYDA Executive Director, CIYDA Team or CIYDA Associates.

What is CIYDA
Contemporary Indigenous Youth Development Africa (CIYDA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2008 and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. CIYDA is working to develop and empower the youths of Zimbabwe for the benefits of the nation and Africa as a continent through the use of new media, information technology and networking amongst other things. Through these drivers, CIYDA aims to facilitate an information hub and service provision in the areas of Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Socio-economic Mentoring and Volunteering. Through current globalisation trends and dispersion of Zimbabwean youths, CIYDA currently has a network connection of approximately 500 Zimbabwean youths in many countries amongst them, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and Canada.

Youth Development: Looking Beyond the "Money"

I was reading some posts on the CIYDA Facebook discussion board and decided to comment on one of the discussions which was started a few weeks ago.

One of the members commented on how young people have to build a foundation as things change for the better in Zimbabwe as there is a lot of money to be made.

CIYDA Says: It is true that Zimbabwean youths have to step up to the plate and be part of the decision making process in building a strong and sustainable foundation. CIYDA is leading the way in advocating for youth development initiatives making sure youths are never again marginalised in Zimbabwe as they are the future.

However lets not be myopic in looking at this as just an opportunity to make a quick buck as things change for the better in Zimbabwe. In an article in the newsletter a few months back we pointed out the need for sustainable initiatives.

At CIYDA we want an environment that is conducive to long term success for youths. An environment where youths can be successful in anything they set their minds on without being constrained by externalities which we can work hard to change today.

For more on CIYDA's initiatives visit our website or get intouch (info@ciyda.org) if you want to get involved or have any innovative ideas to youth development.

Disclaimer: - Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein from other websites, CIYDA cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions transferred from other websites and expressed herein are those of the author of the ORIGINAL article and do not necessarily represent the views of CIYDA, CIYDA Executive Director, CIYDA Team or CIYDA Associates.

What is CIYDA
Contemporary Indigenous Youth Development Africa (CIYDA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2008 and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. CIYDA is working to develop and empower the youths of Zimbabwe for the benefits of the nation and Africa as a continent through the use of new media, information technology and networking amongst other things. Through these drivers, CIYDA aims to facilitate an information hub and service provision in the areas of Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Socio-economic Mentoring and Volunteering. CIYDA currently has a network connection of over 500 Zimbabwean youths in many countries amongst them, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and Canada.

Information Communication Technology for Youth Development

St. Gallen, Switzerland, October 09, 2009 - "The youth are really the generation we are talking about when we address the issue of ICT..." were the words of the President of Zimbabwe during the current TELECOM World 2009 Conference in Geneva Switzerland.

In light of the just ending Information Telecommunication Union's TELECOM World 2009 conference I recall an article that I published on this blog in July called, "Africa: Investment in Technology to Attract Youths & for Development". In this article I pointed out in line with CIYDA's effort the need for Zimbabwe amongst other African governments to develop Information Technology (IT) platforms for youths.

With IT at the heart of CIYDA's initiatives in youth development in Zimbabwe I took time out to follow proceedings at the conference in Geneva through various forms. I was quite eager to find out what the Zimbabwean delegation had to say about IT development and how it is paramount for youth development in Zimbabwe.

CIYDA welcomes the President’s effort in highlighting youths as one of the main reasons why IT is crucial not only for their development but to bring Zimbabwe as well as the whole continent at par with the rest of the world in IT use. It is true, in the article published in last month’s CIYDA Newsletter, how young people are acquiring more developmental tools from harnessing postive elements from the Internet etc.

As encouraging as such insights are it is easier said than done and it will take a lot of concerted effort from within Zimbabwe and outside Zimbabwe to bring the youths on board to harness the importance of IT in their long term development. Governments can only do so much and organisations like CIYDA can also only do so much in providing funds and initiatives respectively on the ground. At a similar gathering of the Information Telecommunication Union (ITU), in December 2003, the President of Zimbabwe said,

Mr. President, long after we have talked about the need for information and communication technologies as tools with which to contrive the information society, we are soon to discover that receivers and computers are powered by electricity which is unavailable in a typical Third World village. Long after we have talked about connectivity, we are soon to discover that most platforms for electronic communication need basic telecommunication infrastructure which does not exist in a typical African village.

What is worse, we will discover, much to our dismay, that the poor villager we wish to turn into a fitting citizen for our information society, is in many instances unable to read and write. Where we are lucky to find the villager literate and numerate, we soon discover that he or she is not looking for a computer terminal but for a morsel of food; an antibiotic to save his dying child; a piece of land on which to eke out an existence, in short, looking for a humane society that guarantees him food, health, shelter and education.

Despite the evident challenges highlighted in the statement above, CIYDA as a youth development advocate, through IT will continue striving to act as a youth information hub in all aspects of development for young people. This is in such areas as Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Volunteering and Mentorship. Through innovative and inclusive approaches son to be boosted by the current restructuring exercise within CIYDA, that will see delegates at regional level we aim to make a grass roots difference for ALL Zimbabwean youths by bringing them onboard to share in our developmental initiatives. We are confident with the continued right support internally and externally our initiatives will reach fruition. Sometimes it’s the small things that make a difference. As one writer once said, “It’s not about where you’re from but where you’re going that matters...” and at CIYDA we are confident we’re headed for better things as Zimbabwean youths.

Disclaimer: - Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein from other websites, CIYDA cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions transferred from other websites and expressed herein are those of the author of the ORIGINAL article and do not necessarily represent the views of CIYDA, CIYDA Executive Director, CIYDA Team or CIYDA Associates.

What is CIYDA
Contemporary Indigenous Youth Development Africa (CIYDA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2008 and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. CIYDA is working to develop and empower the youths of Zimbabwe for the benefits of the nation and Africa as a continent through the use of new media, information technology and networking amongst other things. Through these drivers, CIYDA aims to facilitate an information hub and service provision in the areas of Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Socio-economic Mentoring and Volunteering. CIYDA currently has a network connection of over 500 Zimbabwean youths in many countries amongst them, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and Canada.