23 Aug 2020

Coronavirus has been sweeping across all societies worldwide, causing a substantial dent, especially for the vulnerable groups such as the youth.

Several reports also state that the virus will have severe global health, social and economic impact on such groups.

However, youth activist and award-winning journalist and founder of 25 for 25 Children’s Campaign, Mr Tlhabo Kgosiemang, has come to the rescue of some young people in Gaborone, who are already feeling the effect of COVID-19.

Through his upcoming youth empowerment session titled 25 Conversations with Tlhabo, the young man explained that his key intentions were centred around the assessment of the immediate, medium and long term effects of the pandemic on young people.

He said that he looked into an integrated governance approach for a fair and inclusive recovery as well as the role of young people as catalysts of inclusive and resilient societies in crisis response and preparation for future shocks.

“As a journalist, I have been dealing closely with young people when writing about the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the back to back lockdowns.

For young people, the deadly virus poses considerable risks in the fields of education, employment, mental health and disposable income. I have it within my agenda to sit the youth down and discuss these challenges with their mates who managed to stay positioned during the crisis,” said Mr Kgosiemang.

Mr Kgosiemang said with the pandemic upsetting life for many young people in the country, he believed he could still re-orient himself to help curb the spread of the pandemic at a local level, therefore staying true to his core mission of empowering the youth so that they could become invaluably versatile and resourceful for their societies.

He further said his youth sessions would strive to discuss the economic effect of the pandemic, risk aggravated by the existing vulnerability of young people in labour markets, as they were more likely to work in non-standard employment such as temporary or part time, facing a higher risk of job and income loss.

Moreover, Mr Kgosiemang said the empowerment sessions would also call on government to apply active governance instruments as a way of removing inter-generational inequalities and involving young people in  building societal resilience.

Scheduled to take place on September 6, the sessions will feature prominent motivational speakers and award-winning social issues activist, Omphemetse Mmolai and Otsile Moje, who will also be donating sanitary towels to female attendees, as part of corporate social responsibility. ends