Kavetja Ngaizuvare
Mekere Veii-Katjiuongua, a passionate advocate for youth empowerment, founded the Empowerment Pathways Foundation recently to uplift Namibia’s underserved youth.
He draws inspiration from his experience with racial discrimination at a private school he attended.
The organisation aims to provide youth with tools and resources they need to succeed, addressing issues such as limited access to education, child-headed households and the lack of long-term support from local non-governmental organisations. He said they intend to implement various programmes, such as the pinnacle of their foundation, Holistic Life Skills Empowerment Camps, alongside their Mobile Resource Hubs, the Cultural Heritage and Storytelling Preservation initiative. They prioritise the lack of mental health recognition, and plan on heading their Mental Health Ambassadors and Community Wellness Programme early next year.
The Community-Driven Environmental Action as well as the Elderly Mentorship and Inclusion Programme presents a unique twist in mentorship, providing a tunnel for intergenerational knowledge to be passed down from the past to the future.
“We are a group of seven dedicated individuals who are passionate about our organisation. The aim is to make the youth feel loved and empowered. I attended a private school and at that private school, I faced a substantial amount of racial discrimination, which ultimately made me realise that we have issues to address in terms of treatment to our youth. So, I think just that treatment towards me is something I’ve bottled in for a long time. Even if it’s only this year that I came to terms with it. I went back to that school, and said ‘I understand what you did’,” he said. He enthused that empowering the youth could be a way of life.
“This is what it is to be responsible. This is how it is to be emotionally intelligent. This is how to manage finances. If they start there, they will have a good shot because these are the future leaders,” he said.
“What motivated me to start this beautiful initiative is the untimely passing of our third president, His Excellency Dr Hage Geingob. Former first lady of Namibia Monica Geingos referred to Hage as the people’s president. That made me look within, and ask myself why I can’t be a people person. Now, here I am. Our organisation is about instilling a sense of worth and potential in every individual we serve,” he stated.
Betty Mbunda Mutemwa, a Life Skills teacher at Kisako Primary School in the Zambezi region, said this programme can help underprivileged or at-risk youth to improve their quality of life.
“They can help young people develop a healthy sense of self, self-control and decision-making skills. Empowered young people are more likely to recognise their capabilities and worth.
They take risks, and view failure as a step toward progress. They are less influenced by the opinions of others,” she said.
-klngaizuvare@icloud.com