11 Mar 2014

When he first received news that he was going for the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) boot camp in Kang in July 2012, little did Mr Keduetswe Mokeresete know that his life would change forever.

The 29-year-old Lokgwabe-born, Mr Mokeresete said in an interview that he learnt about the boot camp from his cousin who had attended it the previous year.

“Immediately after my cousin had told me, I went to the youth office in Tsabong to gain more information about the Youth Empowerment Scheme boot camp, and in being satisfied, I registered for the scheme,” he said.

He said two weeks after registration, he received a call asking him to come to the youth offices where he was told that he had been selected to attend the boot camp.

“I was so excited that I agreed to the terms and conditions of the exercise and signed the papers to prove my agreement to attend the boot camp,” he said.

Attending the boot camp was a great idea for him, he said, adding that it was an opportunity that he could not afford to miss, particularly because it marked the first steps in new directions for him.

Mr Mokeresete said during his six-week stay at the boot camp in Kang, he learnt a lot of things such as emotional intelligence, civic engagement, entrepreneurship, health and wellness, life skills and talent Identification as well as development, among others.

“I am now fully equipped in all these areas; for instance, through the knowledge I got on civic engagement, now I know that every aspect of social life provides people with an opportunity and a challenge to assess the quality of their citizenship in their society and country,” he bragged.

He further said that civic engagement training had developed him to become a youth who cherished the equality of all Botswana citizens and harboured no prejudice against other citizens on the grounds of their ethnicity, culture, gender, geographical location or disability.

Mr Mokeresete also pointed out that he was now a mature and active citizen who did not take his Botswana citizenship status, identity, rights and responsibilities for granted.

“I make it my business to be involved in decision making processes in my community by attending kgotla meetings where decisions are made. I also try by all means to volunteer when the need arises,” he said.

He added that he was also planning to be fully engaged in answering the call of ‘giving to charitable causes’; the camp also equipped him with the knowledge of his right to vote, so he had registered to vote, he said.

The young man now understood that the desire to make a difference in society, whether in matters of healthy life styles, political mobilisation, improving community livelihoods, or motivating other youths to pursue goals of personal development, requires the application of critical thinking skills.It is for that reason that he always attends workshops that are aimed at improving thinking skills in order to improve his thinking skills.

He said he has also learnt that ignorance is no virtue, and that it is a source of disempowerment for citizens and he usually encourages other citizens, especially the youth to recognise the need to move out of a culture of silence and dependency.

Mr Mokeresete, who confessed that he used to be an alcoholic, said that knowledge imparted to him on emotional intelligence has helped in moulding his behavioural and emotional responses for character building and discipline.

“Emotional intelligence helps me to constructively manage my emotions in relation to myself and interacting with others.

I am aware that emotions can either ruin or nurture relationships. It is therefore important that we become aware of our emotions and the emotions of others in order to constructively address challenges,” he said.

He said the knowledge he gained on self-discipline and behavioural change has really transformed him from a drunkard, a smoker and a womaniser, into a responsible youth who is willing to take part in the development of his country.

He said he also learnt that health and wellness play a pivotal role in people’s lifes, adding that it results in an increased alertness and mental focus, improved immune system, maintained ideal body weight, enhanced self-confidence and self-esteem and general sense of wellbeing.

Mr Mokeresete said that he is using all the knowledge he gained while at the boot camp to help other youth change their lives for the better.  He said that he helps them to identify their talents, groom it and use it to earn a decent livelihood.

He is now a peer educator at the Tsabong Primary Hospital and a motivational speaker whose main aim is to improve the lives of people in communities especially the youth who are most exposed to crime and other social ills.

The young man said that he is planning to own a youth clinic which offers youth services such as guidance and counselling, provision of information, HIV counselling and testing, family planning services and many more.

He said that it his dream to also own a business clinic which will offer business advice and other services needed to operate a successful business.

He also pointed out that he is planning to conduct workshops that are aimed at talent identification and development every fortnight.

He said that this programme will target mostly the youth as they are the ones that are mostly affected by the issue of unemployment.

Mr Mokeresete advised the youth to take measures such as the Youth Empowerment Scheme Boot Camp seriously as they have the potential to change their lives especially on the issue of unemployment which has become a threat to the social, economic, and political stability of nations.

He said that the boot camp is an important aspect of the YES Programme that interfaces behavior change, empowerment, poverty eradication and skills development.

He also said that beyond the six week Boot camps, participants are attached to different sectors of the economy to enable them to be more adaptable to the world of work, have a positive attitude and be able to make a difference in their own lifes. ENDS