The mission of Africa Food for Thought is to feed children, in support of education. But our end goal isn’t just children finishing Matric – it’s for them to become self-sufficient. And we all know that the key to looking after yourself is earning an income.
Finding work is very difficult for young people in South Africa. Currently 2 out of every 3 South African youth are unemployed. Many obstacles challenge the youth who have grown up in an AFFT supported family. We are often asked to help with printing CVs, transport to interviews, advice about possible scams, and help for the first month working. The adults in our families aren’t working, so they have limited ability to mentor their youth in finding employment.
We believe in the power of work experience. Through our own programme at AFFT, and our partners in the YES 4 Youth programme, we have impacted nearly 20 young people over the past 3 years. These young people learn valuable workplace skills and improve their chances of future employment. A young person with an updated CV and reference letter is three times more likely to be called back for a job application within their first three months of job hunting.
If you visit our offices, you will meet some of our great interns. At any given time we have two young men helping with deliveries. They receive a 4 month contract and learn a number of office-related skills during that time. We also have a young lady, Letlhogonolo, who will be our office receptionist for the next year. Her salary is being funded by one of our corporate partners through the Youth @ Work Programme.
The great thing about choosing an AFFT family member for your programme is that we can give quality recommendations based on knowing much more about our kids than just their CVs. We can advise on personality matches, help with transport, and make sure that your company receives a great fit.
Learn more about how the YES programme can help your business here: https://blog.yes4youth.co.za/learnerships-internships-apprenticeships-the-difference-between-the-ships-and-a-yes-quality-work-experience
