SHADÉ IS A YOUNG SOUTH AFRICAN WHO OVERCOME HIGH INEQUALITY AND YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN HER AREA TO PURSUE FURTHER EDUCATION AND EARN A JOB. BUT IT WASN’T EASY AND NOW SHE IS SHARING HER STORY TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE AT HER FORMER SCHOOL TO CARVE OUT THEIR OWN PATH FORWARD.
By Ján Michalko
Sitting around a table decked with fried chicken and bread, Shadé is reflecting on her life with a small group of students from her former school. One year on from graduating, she’s currently studying for a certificate in Computer Science at a local college. This will seem impressive to the young students she is with but, as she readily admits, this was not always the plan.
While Shade was still at school, she had a one-track vision for herself: she wanted to become a Marine Ecologist. But having been rejected by a few universities, her options began to narrow and she was worried about the prospect of sitting at home or, ending up in a job she didn’t want.
THE WINDING PATH
Working in low-paid, low-skilled jobs is the path for many young people in South Africa who rarely have the opportunity to education after high school. This is especially true for young women and men in areas like Mitchell’s Plain, a suburb of Cape Town, where Shadé’s former school is located.
With decades of oppression, disinterest and lack of investment, young people from many parts of this area still have few employment prospects – even 25-years into the era of multi-racial democratic South Africa, so young people like Shadé need to stand out from other matriculants with additional skills, credentials or connections in order to compete for the few jobs available.
Having been part of the Columba Leadership programme while at school, Shadé was armed with just that. Her connection to the programme led to a certificate from one of its corporate sponsors, which in turn lead to her earning a job as a Technical Assistant in one of the Contact Centres it runs for other businesses. In short, the varied connections she made through the programme became the social capital she needed to earn a job.
This job was important to Shadé because she was so set on going to university that she had not applied for any scholarships or bursaries for College. Despite the government recently adopting free higher education in 2017, a lack of funding still closes the door to education for most young people in the country. But her job working night shifts as a Technical Assistant enabled her to earn the funds she needed to pursue her Computer Science Certificate.
Shadé feels her life has been challenging and exhausting. When she reflected on what she called her ‘wing it’ approach, she said it was definitely making her life a struggle. So it is not surprising that she was quick to advise students at her school:
‘If you’re not sure on what you wanna do next year: don’t be like me. I only had luck by my side, winging it doesn’t help you at all in the end.’
SHADÉ THE RELATABLE ROLE MODEL
Her words of advice might seem simple, but to the learners with whom Shadé was speaking to, they provided encouragement. If they plan and ask for advice, they can have a shot at pursuing a degree, a certificate or an apprenticeship. Unlike their teachers or family members, Shadé is someone who knows what it means to be a young woman in Mitchell’s Plains.
Just like the students whom we met, she used to walk around the same school corridors. As an alumna of their school, she was relatable in a way that others just can’t be.
Shadé and other alumni that we met earlier this year in Mitchell’s Plain are now giving back to their community by serving as role models and motivational speakers.
Shadé’s dedication to service, one of Columba’s core values, is clear. She would not come to meet us in the early morning before her night shift if she didn’t feel it her responsibility to support the next generation. So it is now up to her school, and the hundreds of schools across South Africa like hers, to connect young leaders like Shadé and help them be the change they want to be.
