Njabulo Happy Togane

Community Youth Heroes

Nominee's Province:
Kwazulu-natal

Age:
28

Project Name/Description:
Empowering Youth

More info:
https:/www.facebook.com/njabulo.togane

Njabulo Happy Togane, 28, from Cinderella Park in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, is a dedicated community worker whose aim is to uplift the youth within his hometown and beyond. “If young people are capacitated with sufficient resources, they can lead their own struggles and develop sustainable solutions towards socio-economic issues,” says Togane. Through his youth organisation, Empowering Youth, Togane has been able to help young people with the provision of life skills as well as career, entrepreneurial, and education support. The organisation measures its success by looking at the number of learners they supported, for example, successfully registering with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and those accepted to study at higher education institutions. It’s also effective in referring youngsters to organisations that offer emotional and psychological support. The organisation, which has six volunteers, funds its activities from its own coffers. However, they have managed to partner with already established NGOs which could financially support their work. As Empowerment Youth has no offices of its own, it currently uses the local library’s boardroom to conduct meetings and other activities.