Once the fanfare of “great matric results” subsides, a deeper question looms for the new wave of young people released into the economy. Will all these matriculants actually find work? What does the future hold for them?
Wherever you travel in this country, poverty is not far. The poor are desperate, constantly knocking at the door for aid and charitable care.
Criminal acts resulting from poverty fuel indignation. Activists run out of steam. Their limited resources restrict the process of transformation - and in South Africa we look despairingly at the state. Comprehensive implementation of proposals for empowerment gets lost in the system.
Will things ever come right? Is there hope for this battalion of new job seekers?
We are parents for the rest of our lives. Our starting point is to recognise that love and justice march together. We must train young people to engage politically.
“Let us (in the words of the Teachers’ League) continue to live for our children” even after they have matriculated.