“This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease.” Robert Kennedy 1967.
If the world needed these qualities in 1967 then with all certainty Lesotho needs twice as much. Who else is going to drive change in a country with only 15 traffic lights and yet cannot maintain them, atypically most of our youth exhaust all their energies in events, alcohol and sex. I am sure most people when reading the title to this blog assumed it was about politics, I dnt blame them, it appears it’s the only thing people in Lesotho perceive can drive change these days. Fortunately I am for a different awareness all together.

Like no generation before, young people are connected to each other, often in ways adults cannot imagine. Because of this, they are able to change the world in ways we’ve never imagined. This has not only been a threat to politicians, but has been a lift to this country’s economy. The role social media, web-connectivity and other online platforms have played is unmeasurable and can easily be taken advantage of by SMME’s that have no reasonable budget for marketing. Basotho are so used to being victims of circumstances which eventually benumb their senses to positively make a change. We have heard stories of men of the past who have made impact by working on initially small projects in their own corners yet later turned into multi-million dollar projects. Even today have you wondered how other young people have managed to create viable projects like whatsapp, uber, wordpress? Not only abroad even in South Africa we have the like of DryBath, Siyabulela Xuza (Real Name), Oxygen Africa Limited (Zim) the list is endless. Didn’t these projects start small in a local city, in someone’s room or someone’s computer? Are they not people of flesh and blood, just like you and me.

Could it be we are not thinking out of the box? Could it be we are concentrating only on what already exists that we fail to see opportunities for new things. Could it be we have been so groomed to sit behind the desks like the academics that we are that we fail to realize life without employment? Lesotho can only hire so many people, the rest need to make a plan for success that does not include employment. Just think, what are you good at that Lesotho needs and you can provide. Just think what your society needs and start designing solutions and selling them, this is where every successful person started.