Enactus CUT changing lives of Gladstone, Thaba Nchu youth

CUT News Community Engagement
Enactus CUT changing lives of Gladstone, Thaba Nchu youth

The youth of Gladstone Village in Thaba Nchu, Free State, with the support of Enactus CUT are taking their futures into their own hands.

Central University of Technology students are working with the youth in Thaba Nchu through Enactus Village FA (Crop Farming) Project to improve the local economic development of their village, and to assist the community to produce crops that will meet the required standard by the commercial market.

Enactus is the world’s largest experiential learning platform dedicated to creating a better world while developing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators. Enactus CUT comprises young student leaders involved in valuable community engagement in various communities.

Kabelo Makhetha, Enactus CUT Project Manager, described the project’s progress, which was delayed by the pandemic. “When we first arrived here, we noticed that these people have land and the motivation, but they don’t have resources. And for someone to be a successful farmer, they need to be enabled. For example, there is a reservoir two kilometres from here, but it does not capture all the water in this area, and most of it ends up going back to the nearby streams. Instead, we realised the community needed water tanks to assist in this regard. Progress since 2019 with the project includes planting potatoes on land which has never been farmed before, and we also managed to grow the project from small scale farming to commercial farming,” said Makhetha.

Nkosinathi Palole was hesitant when he joined the project, but with time, he has seen the value of learning from one’s elders and applying their knowledge and wisdom to improve one’s life. “My father has been a part of the Village Fr Project for quite a long time, but I never really understood exactly what he did until I sat down with him, and he explained the true value of farming and being a part of the legacy that our older generation wants to leave for us,” said Palole.

David Ske, Village Far Project Deputy Headman, added that it has been encouraging to see the youth taking part in this project and making a meaningful change in their community, leaving them a legacy that won’t waste.

Community Activist, Tsholofelo Motlogeloa, encouraged the youth of Gladstone to look for opportunities within their communities. He added that many leave their homes to live in urban areas, when there is a lot to achieve by staying and improving our communities, especially those rich in land such as Gladstone.

Enactus CUT has partnered with the university’s Community Engagement Office and PAVA (Patriot Vision in Action), an NGO from Lesotho to empower the community, especially the youth, to be creative, innovative and to take advantage of their livelihood assets such as land and water; focusing on creative approaches to the protection of the environment, upskilling of the unprivileged communities, job creation, and income generation.

Caption

The community of Gladstone, Thaba Nchu have planted 2 hectares of potatoes as part of the Enactus CUT Village Far (Cop Farming) Project.

Uploaded: 11 March 2022
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