How A South African School’s Youth Humanitarian Awards Inspire Change

A fee-paying school in Cape Town, South Africa, has been facing difficulties over the past few years, including financial struggles leading parents to withdraw their children, as well as recent incidents of violence—A few months ago at Cedar High School in Mitchells Plain, a girl was beaten, while two boys hospitalized in a suspected bullying incident at the school.

In response to these issues, the Young Humanitarian Awards (YHA) have emerged as a beacon of hope for South Africa’s youth in the school. Founded in 2022, the initiative celebrates students who make meaningful contributions to their communities against the odds. The YHA was born out of a similar time of uncertainty at Cedar High when parents were pulling their children out of the school due to the issues raised here. This led Shaheeda Duncan to launch the award to recognize students whose dedication to social good often goes unnoticed in the face of adversity.

Thanks to a combination of corporate and community investment, the awards will continue to grow. Kryterion, in particular, sponsored the event due to their interest in being able to recognize resilience, compassion, and dedication from students from their background in providing an SaaS platform for exams. Let’s assess where this kind of action sits in the context of some of the challenges facing the continent in general and how long-term solutions could follow.

Assessing and Confronting Africa’s Challenges

Jonas Bausch, the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s Regional Youth Employment Specialist, outlined in a recent podcast some very alarming youth employment statistics in Africa—26% of young Africans are neither employed nor educated nor in training. The ILO’s efforts, including its work with the African Union to develop a youth employment strategy and its collaborations with youth organizations, aim to put young people’s voices at the head of the table. Rather than solely being beneficiaries of projects, the idea is to ensure they are partners in the solutions to their challenges.

The YHA is a great example of this at Cedar School, as it addresses some of Africa’s most pressing challenges. These initiatives are a vital part of the global effort to combat poverty and inequality, as highlighted by the United Nations Africa Renewal, which emphasizes youth-led action as a key factor in overcoming systemic barriers to growth.

Awardees of the YHA, such as Jericho Foster and Charline Hama for this year, should be heralded for their great contributions. Jericho, a Grade 9 student, founded his own nonprofit organization, The Jericho Foster Outreach Team, which provides food to the underprivileged, organizes fun days for children and hosts Christmas parties. Meanwhile, Charline, the president of Cedar High’s Interact Club, has led projects that support homeless people and elderly care. They are clear examples of keen activists looking to tackle inequality at the grassroots level.

Support in Abundance

The Young Humanitarian Awards’ success wouldn’t be possible without the support of local organizations and corporate partners. Shaheeda Duncan’s vision was thankfully backed by organizations like the software development company Kryterion, and the Rotary Club of Kirstenbosch, a corporate partner based in Century City. These partnerships have provided essential funding and logistical support so that the award can continue to flourish.

As highlighted in Forbes’ article on supporting schools, the corporate world has the power to positively shape local education by developing partnerships with schools, especially when schools are facing financial difficulties. Businesses that step in with support can ensure that education and infrastructure needs are met, and it’s a reciprocal relationship—funding extracurricular programs, career development initiatives, and awards like the YHA, creates a potentially more skilled workforce for the future in these communities.

On top of that, companies can consider offering their services with guest speakers to help students learn about different career paths and what the various skills required are. Companies could also contact local schools to discuss workshops and seminars where students can focus on essential employability fundamental skills such as CV writing or interview techniques. Lastly, should a good relationship be formed between certain schools, internships or mentorship programmes can be mutually beneficial by forging a path for career development and helping in various tasks at a company.

The YHA Inspiring Long-Term Solutions

The impact of the YHA extends far beyond a simple award ceremony. Recognizing young people for their humanitarian efforts should encourage them to continue their work and inspire others to follow suit. Shaheeda Duncan’s work and how the award aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) demonstrate a larger global movement at play.

Out of the 17 SDGs, it is safe to say that the YHA is contributing to at least three. First, it recognizes young people for their humanitarian work at school and focuses on education within the participants’ projects. Second, the awardees’ projects focus on social inequalities, which is a cornerstone of the SDGs. Finally, the YHA provides the recipients with an opportunity to collaborate with external organizations and communities, as described under the final SDG 17.

Final Thoughts

The overwhelming success of this YHA highlights the huge potential of youth activism. When so many young people are facing adversity from various societal and economic problems, the YHA shows that they can rise above these challenges and make huge contributions at their own schools. When you couple this with the support that the corporate world can provide, as Kryterion did in this case, there is immense power in grassroots youth-led initiatives, and we need to ensure that these avenues remain for young people to continue making vital contributions to society.

Article by Buzz Walker, CRO of Kryterion