In sub-Saharan Africa, half of the population is aged under 25 years (Filmer et al., 2014). The youth population has quintupled since 1950 and is expected to continue increasing (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2011). In Khuma, the site for this project, the percentage of youth not in education, training or employment (NEET) is estimated to be around 50%. The global data on wellbeing, education and employment as signifiers of opportunities for young adults reveal that many are being pushed into the margins of society, especially for those in poor communities where there is increased competition for fewer resources and opportunities. In this global village, such problems are no longer only of local concern. The ability of marginalized youth the world over to lead purposeful and productive lives is hampered by the fact that they are caught in cycles of economic and social deprivation, leading to a loss of personal vision and hope for a better life (Vorster, 2010). The percentage of youth who do not make a successful transition into adulthood is always higher among poverty-stricken populations (Mackie, 2013; Orfield & Lee, 2005). A successful adult is defined as one who is able to sustain him/herself, contribute to supporting a family and have access to and can negotiate with supportive social networks (Raffaelli, Lazarevic, Koller, Nsamenang & Sharma, 2013). Youth who are not able to do this tend to be at more risk of engaging in anti-social activities. Part of their need for acceptance can be fulfilled by, for example, joining a gang or committing crime, giving them a false sense of power and identity, or by adopting negative coping mechanisms, such as alcohol and drug abuse (Fine, Stoudt, Fox & Santos, 2010). They then suffer from such negative psychological and interpersonal consequences as depression, lack of self-respect and disrespect for others (Yoshikawa, Aber & Beardslee, 2012), leading to a vicious cycle of negativity and loss of hope for a better life. Referring to such youth as "marginalised" does not imply deficits on the part of young people. This project proceeds from the principal that young adults have enormous potential when they have the opportunities to realize it, with simultaneous acknowledgement of the complex barriers that prevent them from accessing opportunities to maximize their capacity to participate in, and contribute to, the societies in which they live (Kearney, Wood & Teare, 2015). The focus of this project is thus to explore ways that youth, who are classified as NEET, can find ways to improve their own employability, and share that knowledge with their peers as a form of community education.
The main research question is:
How can a participatory action learning and action research approach help to address youth unemployment in a socially and economically challenged community?
Research aims:
To investigate how a participatory action learning and action research approach can enable unemployed youth to take action to improve their employability and those of their peers.
i) To develop the employability skills of participants
ii) To research the perceptions of youth in Khuma about unemployment
iii) To use this information to develop some actions to address the issue
iv) To implement the actions decided on.
v) To evaluate the actions taken and decide on the way forward
vi) To partner with Gatelepele Youth Development Consultancy to ensure the sustainability of the project.
vii) To create opportunity for participants to have their learning certified by the Global University of Lifelong Learning.
