A group of 16 young people from Khayelitsha and surrounding areas gathered at Look Out Hill on Saturday June 3 to receive their certificates after completing an intensive three-month computer training course with non-governmental organisation, Whizz ICT Centre.
The aim of the organisation is to equip the youth with relevant skills to make them employable.
These students were taught basic computer skills and web development.
Speaker after speaker encouraged young people to continue studying and empowering themselves with any knowledge and skills they could acquire.
They were told that it was only through education that they stood a better chance of becoming good citizens and avoid getting caught up in gangsterism and drugs.
Founder of the organisation, Thembinkosi Qondela, said young people should be afforded an opportunity to make their dreams a reality and work hard to achieve them.
He said young people from Khayelitsha had the potential to be agents of change, but only if they were provided with skills and opportunities.
Mr Qondela said there was a massive demand for people who had computer skills and it was therefore apt for them to prepare young people to meet the requirements of the job market. However, he added, many township residents remained oblivious to the importance of being computer literate.Mr Qondela said they started with 24 students but only 16, of whom he was very proud, managed to complete the course. He added that the graduation of these young people was proof that even if you have failed matric, it’s not the end of the road. “We are slowly but surely making inroads to better Khayelitsha. We call upon young people to reclaim their futures.
“We are also telling the elderly people that it is never too late to equip yourself with skills,” he said.
Student Nomathasanqa Buda, said she was happy that she had managed to finish the course even though it was hard and at times she felt that she wanted to quit.
Ms Buda said when she enrolled for the course, she had had no experience of using a computer.
The 29-year-old said she realised that it was never too late to learn and nothing was impossible. “My future looks bright like a star. I’m now in a better position to be employable and I will look for a job,” she said.
Representative of the Great Khayelitsha Development Initiative (GKDI), Khayelethu Malongwe, said a person who does not want to study becomes a criminal and that education is the only tool that creates a better future.