The Moshawane Cycling Club in partnership with the Chuck D Foundation in the North West celebrates Youth Day by feeding the hungry in Mahikeng.
The team believes it’s important for today’s youth to commemorate this day by drawing inspiration from the actions of the 1976 youth.
On 16 June 1976, high school learners led protests in South Africa against the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. An estimated 20, 000 pupils took part in what is known as Soweto’s Uprising, where police fired teargas and live ammunition and killed more than 176 learners.
A team of children between the ages of 7 to 17 say they want to create a positive society and among the members is 11 year-old Rorisang Machwisa who said since the 1976 youth is gone, it is now their time to take over.
“We are honouring this day by encouraging today’s youth to choose a sport and stop using drugs. Since the 1976 youth has passed on, we have now taken over to carry on fighting for the youth of this country.
“So today we are giving the homeless food, that is how we are commemorating this day. We want to show them that there is more to life than wasting life away on substance abuse. They can become anything they want, they just have to have determination and work hard,” said Machwisa.
The 13-year-old Refemetswe Moreo said their intention was to inspire people.
“We are going around cycling and then we are going to give people food to inspire them to give up. We want to encourage our peers to stop using drugs and join sports activities to keep them busy,” Moreo said.
Moshawane Cycling Club’s coach, Phumzile Bekwapi, said the club was formed in 2019 with the intention of keeping the kids from wandering the streets and turning them into professional cyclists, and believes this day should be used to make a difference in people’s lives.
“We saw the need for this day to be celebrated differently this year because we have fathers and mothers who are unemployed and come to town seeking jobs on a hungry stomach and in most cases go back home the same way.
“So we decided to celebrate this day by feeding the homeless and job seekers in town,” said Bekwapi.
Busang of the Chuck D Foundation said: “We just wanted to also feed job seekers who come to town every day, so that at least they will have breakfast before they could continue with their hustles. The 1976 youth took a brave step and portrayed selfless acts, so they should be commemorated with such acts,” he said.
The beneficiaries commended the NGOs for giving them food, a job seeker Thabang Nkwe, said the Youth Day was special for them.
“We are very happy to see children participating in such initiatives. They are encouraging others to channel their time on positive things to stop drug abuse and help people. This really is an act of kindness, these kids will really be leaders of tomorrow,” said Nkwe.
A homeless Shimane Mosala said no one has ever shown him this act of kindness.
“No one has ever done this to me. I don’t have the perfect words that can explain how I feel. I am really grateful, I don’t remember the last time I had warm food even in this cold weather. So we are really grateful,” Mosala said.
The NGOs said they intended to feed 100 people to commemorate this year’s Youth Day.
