If there is something, we all learned this year it’s that the youth are very strong and capable, despite the hardships and unfortunate events that are happening and continue to happen, the youth somehow finda way to persevere and, in some cases, thrive.
From the youth-led and organized protests to the academic difficulties brought on by the corona pandemic, right up to the economic constraints, it would be an understatement to say the youth have had it rough this year.

The country is very youth-oriented and whenever a crisis strike it is mostly the youth that is affected, directly and indirectly, it’s the way things are.
It is also the youth that in many cases make the most out of these crises, whether it is finding a way around or bulldozing through crises, the youth are a smart and strong, and a productive group when they have to.

The Shut It Down and end SARS protests held in recent weeks is a good example of what the youth can do when they decide to be productive, whether you agree with how they went about it or not, we all have to admit they did it and brought some international attention to their cause. Even the older generation can attest to their youth when they were protesting against oppression and education systems before independence.

When schools closed down and classes moved to online platforms, everyone was affected by this, from the teachers and students right up to the parents, everyone needed to relearn and adapt to the new way of doing this, but surprisingly it was the youth that adopted rather quickly to this change and made the most of it. Today the students seem to have a better understanding of online classes and how to go about them, while teachers have done a great job to learn and use the online platforms, they still lack behind their students.

A couple of weeks ago the Buy Local, Grow Namibia initiative was launched and it was mostly directed to the youth, but more importantly the youth are taking up space in the private sector, that is whether it
is starting their own business or climbing the corporate ladder at the some of the biggest and most established companies. The youth are growing Namibia.
Like most groups, the youth are simply a strong group when they get inspired and with all that collective power among them, the youth is a very capable and strong group.

* Olavi Popyeinawa
Twitter: @olavipopyeinawa
Email: olavipopyeinawa@gmail.com