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Young people are encouraged to volunteer their time and labour to improve the lives of those around them under Proud to Serve.
JOHANNESBURG'S young citizens are extending their hands to the underprivileged and aim to clean up the city through volunteering initiatives such as Proud to Serve.
The theme for the volunteers is 'Proud to Serve'
With branches in each City region, Proud to Serve is a department of human development initiative that sprang from a National Youth Service (NYS) Volunteer Campaign. Under it, teenagers across the city join forces throughout the year, rolling up their sleeves and not waiting for any compensation to uplift their own areas as well as surrounding ones.
The project is aimed at involving young volunteers in serving their communities. It was started by Executive Mayor Amos Masondo to motivate communities to strive for their own betterment.
It targets unemployed youth, schoolchildren, and members of the community. Participants help to provide services like painting and cleaning residential areas and public spaces such as community parks and dump areas.
According to Ayabulela Mapolisa, the youth officer for Region C, the project targets 1 000 volunteers per region, who carry out the projects on a quarterly basis. They work on whatever problems are affecting the community at the time. There are no sponsors or funders; the volunteers are only supplied with refuse bags by Pikitup.
Proud to Serve encourages young people to actively participate in the improvement of their city through different initiatives to keep the city clean, says Mapolisa. This year, it will focus on disadvantaged areas so people can benefit from the World Cup. The idea is to turn these areas into tourist destinations, she explains. Work will also be put into revamping and cleaning informal trading areas.
Partners in Proud to Serve include Pikitup, community forums, youth forums and residents.
Previous initiatives
During the 2009 festive season, eight teenagers from Mathole, an RDP settlement east of Roodepoort, volunteered to paint a house for physically disabled individuals.
One of the youngsters, 13-year-old Piece Tshandu, recalls being approached by Mapolisa to help. "When Sisi Aya approached us to come help, I said no problem we will come. I enjoyed painting the house. If we were to be called again I would still come and help."
And 16-year-old Tlamelo Bantseke remembers that after helping to paint the house, he knew that he could paint and would practise his new-found skill on his bedroom walls.
Other initiatives that the project has been involved in include HIV and Aids awareness, substance abuse awareness, women empowerment, entrepreneurship and business empowerment.
History
The underlying theme of the NYS Volunteer Campaign is "Proud to serve". This means that young people undertake activities that will empower them, drawing on their resourcefulness and energy, says Mapolisa. It empowers them through the use of tools and skills they accumulate to help them cope with life's challenges.
The NYS campaign is an annual initiative that runs over December and January, to celebrate the year-round contributions of the youth to their communities. It was launched in 2006 by the then deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. More than 9 000 youngsters took part over the festive season holidays in that year.
It aims at inspiring resident to do things for themselves, says Mapolisa, by targeting environment and nature conservation, renovating parks, HIV and Aids awareness campaigns, agriculture, community gardening, infrastructure with regard to renovating communities, community safety, Arrive Alive campaigns and supporting back to school campaigns.
There are a wide range of organisations keen on accepting volunteers, some of which are listed under Helping hands. To volunteer or help the underprivileged, call Ayabulela Mapolisa on 011 761 0279 / 073 585 5627 or send an email to
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