03 Oct 2018

Young leaders have been asked to fearlessly unlock opportunities in order to prosper.

Speaking during a mentorship session with 12 young women entreprenuers, the British High Commissioner, Ms Katy Ransome, said many opportunities were available, therefore, people should be aware of signals that life threw at them.

She said such opportunities provided one with a chance to change circumstances for the better.

She pointed out that embracing available opportunities would bring in experience and progress.

Talking about her journey of life, Ms Ransome said she embraced every opportunity available to her and that landed her in Botswana as head of mission.

“Volunteer, wash the dishes in restaurant, sell bags, and that prepares you for something great” she said.

She stated that she used to sell bags in order to gain experience, adding that prepared her for public speaking and interaction with people.

Ms Ransome said she travelled the world and worked in the bank.

Ms Ransome explained that people were source of the solutions and answers, because they had necessary knowledge, experience and skills one may need to move forward in life.

She therefore urged the youth to interact and continuously work on building and strengthening relationships in order to gain support.

A participant in the session, Ms Godiraone Molati pointed out that people should not be afraid of sharing their ideas.

Ms Molati said it was in sharing of ideas that people would grow .

“Even if the idea is copied, it would not go anywhere, because it is not the passion and vision for that person”, she stated, adding that eventually the one who stole the idea would fail.

She pointed out that hard work, purpose, perseverance; optimism and inspiration were wheels, through which to strive and therefore stated that if it was not one’s idea, they would lack that and would not be able to proceed to the next step.

For her part the youth development practitioner at Career Coaching in Botswana, Ms Lilian Moremi, said she saw it necessary to have time with Ms Ransome adding that it was a way of learning and preparing young people.

Ms Moremi, was also of the view that young people were torch bearers and that they needed to constantly come together for sessions to map a way forward to a better Botswana.

She said interaction with the British High Commissioner should be a start to reveal that they could associate with such.

She stated that young people possessed creative and innovative potential to impact and lead every sphere of society.

Therefore, she added, it was her dream to see young people contributing towards development of the continent and taking the lead in making the world a better place.

Ms Moremi said if given a chance to engage with industry experts and employers, the youth would develop ideas to curb unemployment in Botswana.

She said that could be achieved if individuals were empowered to unleash potential for the greater good of humanity.

Regarding career coaching, she mentioned that the idea was registered in January 2012 and tackled different career issues ranging from academic excellence, leadership and social responsibility in an effort to manage the transition from secondary to tertiary education, to the world of business, training, coaching, mentoring, and the facilitation of youth development programming.

Ms Moremi further said the society worked with educational stakeholders to bring opportunities closer to the students through career guidance and motivational talks. Ends