When most of the stories we read have all been about doom and gloom, as has been the case in the past two weeks due to the trail of destruction left by the unrest, it is often hard to be optimistic about anything.
Yet one story we carry in today’s paper about a 30-year-old entrepreneur, Lethabo Mokoena, from Daveyton in Ekurhuleni, offers a glimmer of hope in the resilience and unbreakable spirit of most South Africans.
Mokoena has moved from washing sneakers at people’s backyards to opening stores in the biggest shopping centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town. His sneaker washing stores are named Walk Fresh and the business was started in 2015 after he completed his communications degree but changed tact when he realised the dire lack of employment opportunities in his community. Such is now the quintessential South African story of despair and joblessness for the youth.
According to Stats SA, the unemployment rate as per the expanded definition of unemployment increased by 0.6 of a percentage points to 43.2% in the first quarter of 2021, largely owing to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has crippled economies around the world.
The official unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 34 was 46.3% in the first quarter of the year. Among university graduates, the unemployment rate stood at 9.3%.
Mokoena’s inspirational story of triumph against adversity is not the only one to be told by this publication in recent weeks. Last week we launched the #SowetanRebuild initiative, a call to action to begin the process of restoring small businesses and economic centres that bore the brunt of destruction during the unrest.
We’ve told stories of small enterprises that were looted and destroyed and called upon capable individuals, institutions and corporates to come on board to support their restoration and their sustainability in the future. The response has been encouraging, with some companies and individuals coming forward and pledging their support to help rebuild the small businesses and help the entrepreneurs behind them.
In the coming weeks we will continue to highlight the plight of the affected entrepreneurs and invite you to make an investment that is as practical and relevant as possible to each of the enterprises.
There have been many similar initiatives launched by various organisations and the government to mobilise resources to support efforts to rebuild the two hardest hit provinces. In many ways the response from various quarters has been overwhelming, with crowdfunding campaigns, donations and financial commitments to help support those in need and save jobs for many workers.
At a time that many businesses were already facing an uncertain future due to the impact of coronavirus, this is a great shot in the arm.
But it is also reflective of the great spirit of this nation in working together to find solutions to the problems that confront it. It has happened many times in the past that whenever it seemed that there was little hope South Africans would band together to support one another for the good of the country.
Of course, we are not oblivious to the fact that the future is still extremely uncertain for millions of people who lost their jobs and incomes as a result of the pandemic and the events of the last two weeks.
But Mokoena’s story and others put a rosier tint on the murky road ahead for this country as it seeks to recover and rebuild from the effects of both the pandemic and the unrest.
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