1. THE education of the next gen-
eration of leaders is at the fore-
front of minds this weekend, as
South Africa pays tribute to the
youth of 1976.
Forty-two years later the
struggle for access to education
is still more relevant than ever.
In response to the challenge
faced by many thousands of
young people in Cape Town,
musician Jimmy Nevis created
the Blue Collar Foundation
(BCF) to effect change in the
community he grew up in.
“Our main focus is to
encourage the youth to dream
beyond their circumstances
and believe in themselves,”
Nevis said. “The youth of June
16, 1976, stood up and changed
the course of history in South
Africa, and we believe that this
generation has it within them
to drive our country forward,
and progress in a world rich
with opportunities.”
The J Nevis Bursary is one
such initiative, which funds a
student’s higher education for
the duration of their studies,
with the help of donors and
supporters.
This year, the Genesis Foun-
dation has stepped in to help
fund the 2018 beneficiary.
We caught up with Nevis
to find out what inspires him
about youth education in South
Africa.
Tell us about your
upbringing in Athlone,
and how it shaped you as a
young adult.
I grew up in a staunchly reli-
gious home. My father was a
pastor, so our home was every-
one’s home. It was always filled
with people from the commun-
ity. My parents over extended
themselves – sometimes to our
own detriment, but it was who
they were and we fell in line.
Our house was full of
people, food and faith, what
else do you need?
My mom always said, “you
give excellence in everything
you do”. It was a culture she
encouraged in the community
too, and it’s what shaped me
in all aspects of my life. I am
because of who they are.
Are you optimistic about
the future of South Africa?
We are living in a time
where anything is possible for
South African youth. We are on
par with the rest of the world
in many respects.
We have opportunities, but
we need to prepare ourselves.
If you want to study across
the globe, you can do that.
If you want to travel, there
are options. We have so much
that our parents didn’t have.
Young people are bridging
gaps right now. But as much as
there are opportunities there
is also a lot of struggle. Every
generation has had their strug-
gle, whether it’s #FeesMustFall
or having to deal with other
social issues in our country.
How significant is educa-
tion to your life story?
I was fortunate to graduate
with a degree. And I have seen
the incredible impact educa-
tion has had on my life and my
career. There’s a huge sense of
professionalism and maturity
that happens at tertiary level.
It’s an experience that can’t
be translated, it is a feeling
of being part of something so
much bigger. And I want to
see as many youth as possible
experience this. This is prob-
ably why I advocate for educa-
tion, it is a part of my being.
I actually had no plans to
study. My plan was to move to
Los Angeles, sleep on the street
and make music. I was going
to be a struggling musician,
or die trying. My mom told me
“you can do whatever you need
to do, but you are not going to
be a stupid musician”.
I didn’t understand that at
the time, and I’m so grateful I
listened to her, and my dad.
Why did you start the
Blue Collar Foundation?
Growing up, I watched
famous people grow them-
selves through helping others.
They had a platform to create
change and they used it unself-
ishly. Angelina Jolie took her
fame and used it to spread a
message together with the UN.
A big motivation for me becom-
ing a musician was to give back
in a much more efficient and
meaningful way.
My family and I per-
formed at community events
and church fund-raisers, this
has been my life for a long
time. And when Jimmy Nevis
became a household name, I
knew I could use my publicity
to help those in need and be
a voice for people who aren’t
heard. The foundation was
started by my friend Cassidy
(Emmanuel) and myself.
How can young people
achieve success in life?
I’m living my dream. I get to
make my own rules. My hope
is for young people to be cre-
ative and expand their minds;
to think big, start their own
businesses and create things
they have never created before.
My hope is that they innovate
and become bigger than their
dreams. I always hope they
never forget where they come
from and the sacrifices others
who came before them made.
How can we as a society
uplift our youth?
The Blue Collar Foundation
and the Genesis Foundation
are trying to bridge the gaps
in access to opportunities for
learning. People are still work-
ing five times harder to achieve
the things others are able to
do in five minutes. Society
can create an environment for
young people to excel.
What should the youth be
focused on right now?
Without a doubt, education.
It’s going to open doors for
you to travel, to meet new and
different types of people. It will
challenge your mind and push
you to reach your potential.
But there are many things
that come with education like
support at home. The transi-
tion from high school to uni-
versity can be very tough.
I was fortunate that my
mum had studied at tertiary
level and she could prepare me
for the struggles I would face
during my time at UCT.
We also need better role
models in leadership positions
today to be examples to the
youth who will follow in their
footsteps. – Issued by the Blue
Collar Foundation
Youth In FocusJUNE 16 20188
Anewbreedof decolonialleadersdeconstructingtheAfricannarrative
WORKING with young people
has always been my passion.
They inspire me and give me
hope for our country. They are
not only our embodied future,
but if you listen carefully, they
are the soothsayers of our
nation. Thus commemorating
Youth Day, marked by the
Soweto student protests
of June 16, 1976, which
dramatically foretold the
socio-political trajectory of
our nation, calls us to pay
special attention to our youth.
If you want to know where
our country is heading, it is
important to understand what
our future leaders care about.
I recently returned from a
trip to Freetown, Sierra Leone,
where I was asked by the AU
to attend the 3rd Technical
Workshop on the Encyclopedia
Africana Project (EAP). The
location was striking in its
complex slave history and an
apt backdrop for the gathering
of seasoned African (and
African diaspora) scholars,
professors, officials and policy-
makers. Conversations were
rich, centring on “Changing
the African Narrative” but
sorely lacked an important
contemporaneous voice – that
of the youth.
The EAP was initially
an idea born by African-
American scholar WEB
Du Bois and championed
by Kwame Nkrumah,
Ghana’s first president after
independence from Britain
in 1960. At that time, the
African continent’s entire
decolonisation movement
spanned from 1922 to 1975.
Decolonisation was a
political process, as well as an
important historical period,
but today has gained new
currency through the eyes
of our youth. Today, young
people the world over are
challenging the dominant
ways of thinking, through
complex intersectional
social movements like
#BlackLivesMatter; #MeToo
campaign; LGBTQI causes
etc. In South Africa, this is
more pronounced in our
student body where the call for
decolonising our educational
systems has also birthed
important movements such
as #RhodesMustFall and
#FeesMustFall, initially
at the University of Cape
Town where I work, and
then spreading like veld
fire throughout the entire
schooling system in South
Africa. Young people are
not only “Changing the
African Narrative”, they are
interrogating the very stains
of the ink in which our legacy
is written.
It seems to me the students
of 1976 who fought the
apartheid regime’s Bantu
Education and “Settler
Colonial” language policies at
the time, are reincarnated in
today’s student leaders.
What we are witnessing
today is the birth of a new
breed of leaders – a decolonial
leadership – who will go on
to tackle some of the most
oppressive systems our
continent has ever inherited in
the post-colony. What does
it mean to be a decolonial
leader?
At the Klaus-Jürgen
Bathe (KJB) Leadership
Programme (a scholarship
that nurtures future leaders
at the University of Cape
Town), students are grappling
with this question in their
leadership journey.
Natalie Mangondo, a
UCT bachelor of science in
engineering graduate, and
Founder of African Pioneers
Association, says: “I think that
‘decolonisation’ has become
a dirty word. Almost like
feminism once was.
However, I think it’s similar
to feminism in the way that
African ideas, practices and
values should be brought to
the table as women’s ideas
should be”.
But what are these
principles and values that
differentiate a decolonial
leader from an ordinary
leader?
Jean-Luc Ciappareli, a UCT
bachelor of social science
student, outlines some of
the qualities he believes a
decolonial leader should
portray:
“A particular sensitivity
to the harms of colonisation
(and its legacies), and a deep
understanding of power
relations; having a desirable,
unifying vision for what a
decolonised society could look
like (imagination); humility
and staying grounded as a
leader: remembering that
decolonisation is not about
the individual, but caring
about grass-roots effects; and
a commitment to a cause they
believe in.”
Particular to our context,
it is clear the legacies of
colonialism and apartheid
have left deep and lasting
scars in our societies through
systematic decimation of
cultures, languages, arts,
indigenous wisdom, and
human dignity through
social, economic and political
exclusion based on race.
“Our ultimate goal as
leaders is to be able to make
the world a less hostile
environment for African
thoughts and ideas, and in
that way, hopefully be able
to change the mindsets of
African people.”
As I made my way back
from Freetown to Cape Town, I
marvelled at our youthful
continent.
With a median age of
Africa’s population only 19.2
years old, and the average
African president aged 62
years, I couldn’t help but
wonder, like the EAP delegates
in the room, if the aspirations
of our young people are truly
understood?
In honour of youth month,
let us truly listen and give
voice to our future decolonial
leaders as they are the living
encyclopedic narrative of our
country and continent.
 Rodrigues is the
programme manager for the
KJB Leadership Programme
at UCT
BELISA RODRIGUES
Musicianmindswhatmatters
Jimmy Nevis is an advocate for education and talks of his inspiration
Bianca Tommy, Jimmy Nevis and Savannah Marney in Muizenberg yesterday. PICTURE: AYANDA NDAMANE/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY/ANA
‘My hope is for
young people
to be creative
and expand their
minds,think big’
Mobiletoiletman
flushedwithsuccess
Movetointegrate
Africa’syoungpeople
LIFE’S challenges were
no match for one Khayel-
itsha-born advertising whiz..
Mlungisi Centane, 33, is one
of the first people to start a
mobile toilet business in the
townships. Though he initially
struggled to prove his worth,
Centane knew that giving up
would not be an option.
Centane’s toilets use 700
litres of non-potable water
which self-recycles after every
use.
Centane spoke of the strug-
gles he went through to “fight
for a spot in the growing of
Khayelitsha’s economy”.
“Starting a business in the
townships is not always easy,
people do not trust you and
you constantly need to prove
your worth. When I started this
business, it was a new concept,
especially here in Khayelitsha,
but I knew what I wanted and I
stood firm.”
When the former broadcast
designer left a cushy job, he
had no idea what he would do
or what was in store for him
but the father of two knew
he “no longer wanted to be
employed”.
He felt he needed something
more fulfilling. “I had to find
other alternatives to make a
success of my dream. I had to
hustle.
“Fortunately for me, some-
one came along and suggested
I look into mobile units.
“Toilets are not as disgust-
ing as people think. After every
event, I transport my units to
the storage facility and clean
them for the next event.
asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za
YOUNG people from different
cultures and backgrounds can
benefit from seeking solutions
together and from learning
from people outside their lived
experiences.
This is the view of the
founders of the One Africa
Project, a platform for young
people to discuss their prob-
lems and to facilitate youth-
driven solutions.
The organisation came
about when Ludovic Bokuli, a
CPUT business management
and entrepreneurship stu-
dent, noticed fellow students
on his campus were socialis-
ing according to their racial
and cultural backgrounds and
there was little integration of
social spaces.
Bokuli, who originates
from Congo, discussed his
observation with his friends
and countrymen and together,
they decided to start a plat-
form where students could get
together and learn from each
other.
The One Africa Project
was launched last month and
seeks to “create a generation of
youth who are conscious about
Africa and passionate about
the continent’s development”,
Bokuli said.
noloyiso.mtembu@inl.co.za
Mlungisi Centane runs a mobile toilet business.
PICTURE: PHANDO JIKELO/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY (ANA)
ASANDA SOKANYILE
NOLOYISO MTEMBU
Pupils from
Helderberg Primary
in Bishop Lavis
were treated to
a warm lunch by
Heart FM yesterday,
as part of their
#16DaysForYouth
initiative for Youth
Day.
PICTURE: CINDY
WAXA/AFRICAN
NEWS AGENCY (ANA)
Heart
forour
youth
OPINION