This year marks the 45th anniversary of what is famously known as the National Youth Day celebrated on June 16 every year.
On this day we remember and honour the generation of youths who in 1976 took the bull by its horns and spearheaded a student uprising in Soweto against the imposition by the apartheid regime of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
Forty-five years is a long time and the mere fact that we still remember and commemorate this day should be a sign to all that power is in the hands of young people to make a difference in the society they live in.
Young people should never look down upon themselves or think they cannot achieve their goals.
I bet the youth of 1976 did not imagine that they would be celebrated 45 years down the line for standing their ground and believing that they could make a difference.
Can you imagine what would have happened had they not said no to oppression?
What would life be like today had the apartheid government not had a taste of massive resistance like the one of the Soweto uprising?
The youth of 1976 made history on that day, amidst tragedy and bloodshed nonetheless.
The youth of today need to be reminded of what power they hold if they stand as a collective.
No violence is necessary but just through the search for solutions, through being a collective, they can achieve a lot.
Social media makes things much easier these days and we stay connected whether we like it or not.
What a powerful tool to use just for hashtags and memes!
Social media has proven that it can be used to bring about change.
It has proven to be so powerful that it influences our thought processes and the decisions we make.
How glorious it would be if this tool could be used to turn negative thoughts into positive ones!
To encourage youth to take care of the neighbourhoods in which they live in instead of waiting on the government to do it for them.
How great if successful youth can share their stories of small but sustainable businesses that they started from their own one bedroom or shack dwelling and are now benefiting their community!
There are so many opportunities out there yet most choose to wake up and dwell on their underachievements and how bad their cards were dealt.
Many often choose to fail in their minds without even taking the first step to try something.
The great thing about failing, however, is that there are many lessons to take out of it.
Failure is sometimes the metal we need to build our fiercest armour to win the next battle.
We will never experience that unless we take the first step.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has been offering bursaries for Grade 12 learners who want to join the sector.
To qualify, one should have an interest in science and engineering.
The bursary pays for books, food and lodgings as well as a stipend and a contract to work for the department for three years.
It is good to dream big but sometimes dreaming small first can benefit one immediately.
We all know that there are not enough jobs to go around and the chances of winning the lotto are one in a million.
But everywhere we look in our communities there is a problem that requires a solution.
Somewhere around you there is probably a leaking tap that needs fixing, a tree that needs cutting, a child who needs a babysitter or a car that needs to be washed.
Many of these tasks do not need a university qualification.
Opportunities are all around us but we seem more motivated by instant success.
We see music artists, actors and successful business people and want to be like them forgetting that it took time for them to realise their success.
Take for example the story of the humble beginnings of the late Richard Maponya.
He started off by selling soiled and slightly torn clothing and moved on to selling milk on a bicycle and eventually employing other youth to work for him delivering milk.
Upon his death last year his joint networth was reported to be close to half a billion rand.
If this rags-to-riches story does not encourage you to venture into business then very little else will.
During this Youth Month, all of us, young and old, should remember what the youth of 1976 had to endure as the uprising ended tragically with hundreds of young people being brutally killed.
May we never forget the contribution of the youth in the struggle for the liberation of South Africa.
May we never forget the power we hold as the youth of South Africa.
- Larry Crisp is the head of communications for the Department of Water and Sanitation, Free State.