 |
| Lerato Sibisi |
Her own erratic upbringing, devoid of meaningful role models and a compass for the future, but laden with self-hate and uncertainty, has prompted Lerato Sibisi to act decisively and play a part in ensuring that the lives of today’s youth are given direction and meaning. She does not want them to suffer from the same fate as she did when growing up. So, today she runs an NPO that seeks to fortify the resolve of kids in her township of Etwatwa in Benoni, east of Johannesburg. In this candid interview with Thembi Masser she extolls the objectives of her organisation and how keen they are to overhaul the dire situation of so many depressed and miserable kids who grow up unsure of what life has for them.
Lerato, 31, is the chairperson and the
chief co-ordinator at AimHope, an NPO she started many years ago but which was
only registered early this year. She says the registration did not happen
earlier only because she did not find time to do so. There are a thousand and
one things for her to do in her life and it was somewhat difficult to pause for
a few minutes and register the organisation.
She does not only display an array of an
excellent brains, but her looks have landed on stage and in the pages of
glamour media and Lerato, or Lee as she is affectionately known in her circles,
is a fashionable model at Rachel Modelling Agency.
 |
| Lerato, fourth from left, at the Miss Face of Daveyton pageant |
Lerato
says in her schooling days…
*Her uniqueness was questioned by society,
and this made her uneasy
*She was raised by a single parent
*No matter how smart she was there were
hindrances
*There were no scholarships, no bursaries
*She studied humanities at school because
she loved the arts but that proved to be a futile consideration as that did not
open opportunity doors for her
*An emphasis was put on proficiency in
maths, thus rendering other studies useless
So she formed AimHope to lead the fight
against youth apathy and to inspire her community. “We aim to right so many
wrongs and maladies we see bedevilling kids in our townships these days. We
want to turn the lives of so many of them into a celebration, an achievement
and a success.”
She is the organisation’s chairperson. And
she is also its chief co-ordinator. As a co-ordinator she organises resources
for their events so that these events become successful and so achieve their
objectives. She also plans events or work on a brief from the events’ managers
and planners. “Event managers ensure that the events go well and that co-ordinators
follow the script and to achieve a great result.”
But when she in not in the board room Lerato
becomes busy with learners and community members, discussing the intricacies of
life with them. “My passion is in tutoring these learners, offering them an
opportunity to beef up their self-confidence and dignity.”
 |
| She is amazing |
These kids, she points out, indulge in
sadistic activities like Satanism and gangsterism and a whole lot of nonsense
you see today, like fascination with drugs and loveless teenage relationships
founded only in fornication. “Our kids are adept in the ills that have no
promise for the future, they attracted to ills that offer only instant flesh
gratification. And that is where the unseen danger lurks. This misplaced
gratification gives them a false sense of self-actualisation when that is that
just an illusion.”
This situation is fatal, morbid and troublesome,
she points out. “We need to turn things around if we are to save the world from
a disaster. At present, so many of these learners are not mentored, nurtured
and given a coaching in life skills. Even some schools are guilty of not
looking properly after their learners,” she says. One of the reasons she thinks
contribute to the malady is that teachers are overloaded with work and have to
deal with too many learners, resulting in the former failing to know their
learners better. “Maybe overcrowding of learners in classes has something to do
with it, making it impossible for teachers to have a proper one-one-one with
learners in order to establish rapport between them. A proper relationship between them should
happen if teachers are to light the flame of hope for leaners to inspire their desires,
their aims and goals, dreams and fantasies.
“And there are plenty of educational problems
to deal with. Many learners struggle with comprehension and have difficulty with
learning and with education. Illiteracy is a dark worm that threatens to
destroy our children’s ability to deal with education. Maybe teachers need to
go beyond teaching; they need to go into the learners’ background and built
strong relationships with them. Maybe teachers need to use the kids’ peers to
help explain concepts and then maybe again try to use different teaching and
tutoring methods. I don’t know,” she shrugs, “but something ought to be done
differently if we want to have future leaders who are educated and proficient
in meaningful skills of life.”
So AimHope runs these tutoring classes to
help learners to think and see themselves as future leaders. And Lerato says
she has seen a noticeable change in the behaviour of learners she has
interacted with since the NPO’s inception. “In the last two years I have sat
down with close to forty kids to give them a pep talk about their life styles
and that has given me immense strength to soldier on with our objectives.
“I empower them,” she says emphasises earnestly.
“I want them to be on their own and to think on their feet and hit the ground
running. AimHope aims to enrich every one of them, from grass-roots and up to
the end of their lives. Every young person must be informed and must have
direction. And, let me add, a community that is active and aware and is involved
in the upbringing of their children helps built a better nation.”
AimHope recently held their first beauty
pageant for female learners, the Miss Face of Daveyton for young school girls
who, Lerato hopes, will become ambassadors in both their schools and
communities and be an inspirational hope for the hundreds of young people who
meander through life aimlessly and desperate.
Fact
File
 |
| Nonhlanhla Ntombela, board member and artist |
Lerato Sibisi (model) - chairperson
Nonhlanhla Ntombela (musician,
artist)-deputy chairperson
Lebohang Sithole (student at Benoni
Technical)-co-ordinator
Blessing Sambo (high school learner)
-co-ordinator
Thato Sekgoele (student at the University
of Johannesburg)-marketing officer
And
the volunteers are:
Rosa Masemula
Noms Roberts
Bonolo Masilela
An AimHope tutoring class in process
Learners come together for wise words at AimHope
A volunteer from AimHope busy at work
Lerato recruiting contestants for the Miss Face of Daveyton pageant which AimHope organised recently in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng
