About Mamelodi and GeneratioNEXT Mamelodi
Mamelodi is a township of about one million people located on the north eastern outskirts of Pretoria(Tshwane metropolitan municipality)many peolpe live in small brick built houses but there are also huge informal settlements or squater camps where people have built their shacks made out of corregated iron or plastic sheets. as more people move from rural areas to the cities, this informal settlements are growing month by month. today Mamelodi remains a densili pupulated area with many large areas of informal settlements.
GeneratioNEXT Mamelodi is the Mamelodi chapter of the United states of Embassy south africa, youth advisory council (YAC) established in august 2014, with a current membership of 92 committed and vibrant young people between the ages of 18 and 26 the members through the chapter identify todays socioeconomic and environmental issues facing the community of mamelodi community and most importantly take action to solve and adress these challenges. we through the assistence of other local youth structures and organisation.
Mission: to organise committed young people who are inspired, innovative and impowered to solving todays social issues.
Vission: to realize a community which is prosperous and vibrant where young people are at the fore front of leadership, innovation and socioeconomic development.
Values: Team work, Accountability, Intergrity, Hard work, Community orientation.
This particular project;
South Africa is concidered a food insecure country. it is unable to produce enough food to meet the needs and rissing demants of the growing populatio, amid the perception that we are a land of plenty. what many dont realise are the hidden faces of hunger in our communities.
over 12 million people in South Africa go to bed hungry each and everyday, women and children are the most affected by the lack of suitable nutrition. Many people go to sleep with an empty stomach not knowing were their next meal will come from (Times Live; 2013)
what can we as citizens do about it?
fighting hunger and malnutrition is the responsibility of the state in terms of food security policy, economic development, competition regulation on food producers and retailers and providing support especially to small, medium and emerging farmers. but we as citizens especially young people can be enovative and empowered in addressing and resolving the issue of food insecurity in our country through our actions of planting organic vegetables in our communities for this reasons GeneratioNEXT Mamelodi would like to develop a food garden innitially for learners who go to Mie Jemison U.S Science Reading Room at the University ogf Prtetoria Mamelodi Campus. this will be used as a pilot project and it is envisaged to set the tone for possibly many food gardens for the surrounding schools, clinics and the Mamelodi community at large for reasons reflected in the above statements.
Benefits for the community of Mamelodi
community project of this nature are vital in bringing the people together to take action to resolve issues that they face to change their current circumstances.
- We expect this to serve as an educational too for the community especially the children to help them develop ways to be self sustainable, be concios of the environment and learn the benefits that come with taking care of it.
- the development of a garden project will help address socio-economic and environmental issues such as hunger and malnutrituion, environmental degradation particularly since this will serve as a pilot project, paving way for a development of a bigger community food garden.
- it will also go a long way in highlighting and promoting future awareness campaigns and initiatives more especially those around water and environmenta conservation, green living, emphesis on green economy, sustainability, healthy eating and lifestyle amongst others.
