#YouthLeader Profile: Freddy Ramonyai

​“Love and Respect Yourself because Charity Begins at Home”
​
“The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” – Nelson Mandela

As Youth Day approaches we checked in with our young ambassadors who are part of our Youth Leadership Programme.

Freddy Ramonya is 18 years of age from a village called Ga-Kgole, in Limpopo.

The young man who is goal-driven says he spends all moments of his life in positive vibes with a clear understanding that life will always challenge him.

“I cherish all the mistakes that I make because they contribute to my growth, I learn from my mistakes.”
​
We chatted to Freddy more about what being a youth of today means to him.

1: What does being a youth ambassador mean to you? And what does the role of a ‘A youth ambassador’ entail?
It means being able to put your needs aside to support and represent the young leaders in doing what's right. Being able to identify the difference between good and bad and teach others about the difference between the two. It's more of advocating for everyone's rights and making sure that they're protected.
 
2: Is there an event or story you would like to share that has impacted you during your time as a youth ambassador?
Societal expectations, when you uphold a certain position as an ambassador. There are expectations that people make out of you either in your social world or the corporate world, I learners to maintain the balance between the two worlds but I've made peace that there will never be balance. It's a see-saw, when the other picks, the other drops and the cycle goes on.
 
3: What work have you done in your community to assist in improving the livelihood of those in your community?
 
In 2020, I ran a campaign together with the young leaders in the rural community that I'm from. After Covid-19 hit us, we initiated what we called "Home-based classes". We had 30 learners that we were teaching in their own respective homes, we were targeting grade 4-12 and this ran for 6months. I've run motivational talks in different schools within the borders of Limpopo but sadly I couldn't reach too many schools as a result of a lack of resources.
 
4: What does Youth Day mean to you?
Youth day marks a very respectful day to all South African residence. It carries a lot of history and as we had young leaders who fought against Bantu education at that time.
 
5: What are some of the issues affecting youth and what are your recommendations on combating them?
Sexual relationships, my recommendation is that let there be programmes where these young teens can be taught about relationships and for a moment, let them shy away from practicing what they see in TV soapies because it's different to reality. They need to understand the concept of dating.
 
6: Why do you think it is important for us to honour our youth?
For the sake of simplicity, we have taught our children that honor means “lifting someone up and treating them as special and important.” It's about allowing the other person to go first, encouraging them, empowering them and believing the best in them. This will definitely lead to a proactive youth.
 
7: What is your message to your fellow youth?
Love yourself, respect yourself and remember that before you can pass any love nor respect to the next person. You have to start with yourself, charity indeed begins at home.
 
8: What is your vision for our Nation’s youth?
Nation's Youth is powerful beyond measure and very resourceful, they just need to realize it and use it to change our nation for the better.