Youth unemployment in South Africa is at an all-time high, according to Stats SA, South Africa’s unemployment rate is high for both youth and adults; however, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15–34 was 38,2%. This means that more than one in every three young people in the labour force did not have a job in the first quarter of 2018. The repercussions of such unemployment levels are detrimental an a social, economic and political level and has in fact been deemed a national crisis by economists.
The Songa Mbele Foundation realises the need for sustainable interventions that will stimulate employment and promote the transfer of skills in South Africa, particularly in rural areas where most young people between the ages of 15 and 18 reside. Providing young people with the opportunity to learn a new scarce and critical skills after they have finished school, is one of the most effective ways to ensure economic stimulation. One of the most basic yet scarce skills in our country is that of farming and agriculture. Songa Mbele Foundation has started project Vurumi to train and upskill young unemployed youth in the agricultural skill of Aquaponics farming. In order to achieve our goal of training 700 Aquaponics farmers by December 2020 we require a training facility which is equipped with the necessary training equipment and resources to conduct Aquaponic training.