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Musawenkosi Moyo
FORMED with the aim of empowering youths in Pumula suburb to thrive and develop their skills, the Pumula South Youth City Project is set to hold its official groundbreaking ceremony in Pumula South on 1 February 2025, and is scheduled to officially open in 2027.
The project, initiated by Yellow World, Home of Arts Entertainment, and Pumula Arts and Craft Investments Private Limited, in collaboration with various stakeholders, seeks to address challenges faced by youths in the community, such as unemployment, lack of safe spaces, limited tools for youth to develop their skills, and drug and substance abuse.
The ceremony will bring together residents, community leaders, and others, and will feature discussions on entrepreneurship, youth-led initiatives, advocacy, and public space transformation, among other topics.
In an interview, Happy Mpofu, the founder and executive director of Home of Arts Entertainment, said that the project was started with the motivation to provide safe and creative zones for youths in Pumula South.
“The project will provide a dedicated center where youths can express themselves creatively, access training, develop leadership skills, improve educational outcomes, and foster a sense of community,” he said.
Mpofu said that in order to understand the needs of young people, they engaged in consultations with them, creating focus groups and workshops.
“We engaged with local youths to better understand their needs, aspirations, and ideas for the project. Their input greatly helped shape the project’s design, programming, and overall vision.”
“A youth advisory board will also be established to ensure that the project continues to serve the interests of its primary beneficiaries, who are the youth,” said Mpofu.
Echoing his sentiments, Sikhulekile Dube, founder and director of Pumula Arts and Crafts Investments (Pvt) Ltd, said that the project will not only nurture talent but also improve the livelihoods of youths.
“With this project, I feel we will identify and nurture talent that is lying idle, bring artists and entrepreneurs together. It will also definitely grow and develop our economy through job creation and capacity building,” said Dube.
Looking into the future, Dube said that their goal is to grow further into other communities and create a network of such initiatives.
“Our long-term goal is to establish the Youth City Project as a model for youth development and community engagement. We plan to expand the project further into other communities, sharing expertise and lessons learned to create a network of youth-focused initiatives across the region,” she said.
Online Reporter