Aletta Shikololo
WINDHOEK – A Windhoek City councillor urged the Katutura Youth Enterprise Centre (Kayec) graduates to seek ways to create jobs for themselves instead of joining armies of jobseekers on the Namibian streets.
Officiating at the Kayec graduation, Ananias Niizimba said: “You should have a vision, dream and think ahead. Do not sit and think of the risk involved. It might not be easy to start your own business due to several issues such as finance, space and transport. However, you should learn to start something and deal with the challenges and obstacles on your way forward.”
Niizimba advised the students and graduates to take action and look for ways to make themselves successful.
He said: “Every story you have ever connected with, every leader you have ever admired, every little thing you have ever accomplished is a result of taking action.”
Speaking to a large crowd that attended the event, Niizimba said one could either be a passive victim of circumstances or be the active hero of their own life.
Using the famous quote by multi-billionaire Bill Gates of the USA, Niizimba said: “If you are born poor, it’s not your mistake. But if you die poor, it’s your mistake.”
Kayec has graduated a number of trainees in fields such as welding, joinery and cabinet making, plumbing, dressmaking, early childhood development teaching, electrical engineering and auto mechanics.
Niizimba said over the years, the themes innovation and entrepreneurship are becoming a trend in youth development and thus the leadership of the City of Windhoek encourages the graduates to maximise the use of their newly gained skills and come up with innovative ideas to assist the city’s plans and programmes to address the dilemmas that the residents are facing, such as housing, electrification and sanitation, especially in the informal settlements.
Bishop Luke Pato, the chairperson of Kayec’s board of trustees, also spoke at the event as well as Nelson Prada, the director of Kayec.
Prada expressed how pleased he was with the graduates as their hard work had paid off even though it was not just a walk in the park.