Made with purpose: A collaboration creating opportunities for young South Africans

For many young South Africans who leave school before completing matric, the transition to formal employment is anything but straightforward. Financial pressures, difficult home circumstances and limited access to education or training create additional barriers in a country already facing a 47.4% youth unemployment rate. 

The problem with trying to make sense of statistics like these is that they reduce a national crisis to something palatable. Behind these numbers are millions of young people with ambitions, abilities and ideas about their futures – they just don’t necessarily have the opportunities to pursue them. In Ocean View, a township in Cape Town, one community organisation is working to change that. 

Learning by doing 

HopeTown is a nonprofit organisation in Ocean View that supports young people facing a range of situational challenges leading to unemployment, interrupted schooling, addiction and teen parenthood. Through its internship programme the organisation provides unemployed young people with practical training and mentorship, helping them to develop the skills, experience and confidence needed to enter the working world.

This approach, which is rooted in the belief that a person’s circumstances shouldn’t determine the course of their life, extends beyond vocational training. Interns also take part in developmental activities for children and teenagers in Ocean View, helping to create the same supportive environment from which they’ve benefited. This develops their own leadership and interpersonal skills. 

A collaboration with purpose 

Where does Daily Maverick fit into this picture? 

We’ve partnered with HopeTown’s talented young people to produce a limited-edition Daily Maverick tote bag, bringing their work to our national audience. 

It’s an opportunity for them to put their skills into practice and create something that reaches beyond their local community. And it’s an opportunity for you to make a social impact – one that extends beyond just supporting our journalism. 

What happens when we work together?

South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis requires sustained investment in education, skills development and job creation. Community-based initiatives like HopeTown form part of that response by creating opportunities for young people who face significant barriers to entering the formal economy. 

We believe in the power of collective action. It’s what makes our journalism possible, and it’s what keeps community initiatives like HopeTown moving forward. 

Sometimes, making a difference starts with something you can carry over your shoulder. 

Shop the Daily Maverick tote for R360. 

Maverick Insiders get 10% off all purchases. Not an Insider? Become one. 

Businesses and foundations that would like to partner with or support HopeTown are warmly invited to connect. HopeTown values long-term partnerships with organisations that share its vision and want to make a lasting difference in the lives of young people at risk coming from hard places.

HopeTown has seven different skills training programmes and runs two shops in Imhoff Farm. All products are available on their website. Browse their store here.